Semiconductor memory device comprising three-dimensional memory cell array

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor memory device includes a substantially planar substrate; a memory string vertical to the substrate, the memory string comprising a plurality of storage cells; and a plurality of elongated word lines, each word line including a first portion substantially parallel to the substrate and connected to the memory string and a second portion substantially inclined relative to the substrate and extending above the substrate, wherein a first group of the plurality of word lines are electrically connected to first conductive lines disposed at a first side of the memory string, and a second group of the plurality of word lines are electrically connected to second conductive lines disposed at a second side of the memory string.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0028159, filed onApr. 1, 2009, and to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0079243,filed on Aug. 26, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices, and moreparticularly, to semiconductor memory devices having an improvedthree-dimensional structure with distributed contact pads.

As the semiconductor industry continues its advance, higher integrationof semiconductor devices, less power consumption and/or higher speedsmay be required. In particular, since higher integration can increasethe specifications of various electronic devices, and this is animportant factor in determining product price, the importance of higherintegration has been increasing. Thus, to realize such highly integratedsemiconductor devices, semiconductor technology has advanced to permitsemiconductor devices of diverse structures to be manufactured, therebydeparting from traditional substantially flat or two-dimensionalsemiconductor devices.

As semiconductor devices become highly integrated and diversesemiconductor device structures emerge, it is increasingly difficult tosecure process margins for connecting diverse and complex patterns insemiconductor devices to conductive lines and other patterns. If afailure occurs in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, thereliability of the semiconductor device decreases, which may cause lowerperformance of an electronic device incorporating the semiconductordevice. Accordingly, it is desirable to enhance the reliability ofhighly integrated semiconductor devices by securing the process marginsin semiconductor devices having complex patterns.

SUMMARY

One concept of the present disclosure relates to the connection betweena cell array and a circuitry outside of the cell array. Therefore, theinventive concept of the present application should not be limited tovertical NAND or VNAND, and shall be understood to apply tothree-dimensional memory devices such as RRAM, MRAM, PRAM, and the like.The present disclosure provides a formation method and resultingsemiconductor device in accordance with the following exemplaryembodiments.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a semiconductor memory devicecomprises a substantially planar substrate, a substantially planarsubstrate, a memory string vertical to the substrate, the memory stringcomprising a plurality of storage cells and a plurality of elongatedword lines, each word line including a first portion substantiallyparallel to the substrate and connected to the memory string and asecond portion substantially inclined relative to the substrate andextending above the substrate, wherein a first group of the plurality ofword lines are electrically connected to first conductive lines disposedat a first side of the memory string, and a second group of theplurality of word lines are electrically connected to second conductivelines disposed at a second side of the memory string.

A word line of the first group and a word line of the second group ofword lines are alternatingly positioned with each other in the directionfrom top to bottom of the memory string. The inclination of theelongated memory string can be substantially 90 degrees relative to theplanar substrate. The first side of the memory string may be opposite tothe second side of the memory string.

The first portions of each of the plurality of word lines can beparallel to each other, respectively. The second portions of each of theplurality of word lines at the first side of the memory string can beparallel to each other, respectively, and the second portions of each ofthe plurality of word lines at the second side of the memory string canbe parallel to each other, respectively.

The first alternating word lines can be disposed on odd numbered storagecells counting from top to bottom of the memory string, respectively,and the second alternating word lines can be disposed on even numberedstorage cells counting from top to bottom of the memory string,respectively.

The device may further comprise insulating caps disposed at the elevatedends of the second portions of even numbered word lines at the firstside of the memory string, and at the elevated ends of the secondportions of odd numbered word lines at the second side of the memorystring.

The device may further comprise a third group of word lines connected toa third conductive line disposed on a third side of the memory string,wherein the first group of word lines connect to modulus three remainderone numbered storage cells counting from top to bottom of the memorystring, respectively, the second group of word lines connect to modulusthree remainder two numbered storage cells counting from top to bottomof the memory string, respectively, and the third group of word linesconnect to modulus three remainder zero numbered storage cells countingfrom top to bottom of the memory string, respectively.

Each of the plurality of storage cells and corresponding word lines mayoccupy a different plane disposed parallel to the plane of thesubstrate. Contiguous portions of a word line disposed in the same planeon different sides of the memory string can be electrically connected asone word line. The substrate can be horizontal when the memory string isvertical, and the device may further comprise a peripheral area disposedon a surface at or above the top of the vertical memory string.

The device may further comprise a plurality of conductive patterns forcontact pads between the first alternating word lines and the firstconductive lines, and between the second alternating word lines and thesecond conductive lines. The device may further comprise a peripheralarea disposed above the planar substrate.

The peripheral area can be disposed in the same level as the lowersurface of conductive patterns, or on top of the chamber. The inclinedsecond portions of the word lines can be disposed at an inclinationangle between about 50 and about 90 degrees relative to the substrate.Inclined second portions may extend from both ends of the first portionof each word line, and one of each pair of inclined second portions fromeach word line can be terminated with an insulating cap.

The device may further comprise a plurality of bit lines disposedsubstantially perpendicular to each of the memory string and the wordlines. The device may further comprise a chamber having a silicon (Si)recess in the substrate, where the elongated memory string and elongatedword lines can be disposed in the Si recess.

The device may further comprise a chamber having an insulating walldisposed on top of the substrate, where the elongated memory string andelongated word lines can be disposed within the periphery of theinsulating wall. The elongated word lines may comprise metal orsilicide. The memory string structure comprising the plurality ofstorage cells can be substantially columnar, pillar, tubular, orbar-sided.

The device may further comprise at least two row decoders, one rowdecoder disposed on the side of the odd numbered storage cells andanother row decoder disposed on the side of the even numbered storagecells. A first of the two row decoders can be connected to either evenor odd string select lines (SSLs) and even word lines, and a second rowdecoder of the two can be connected to either odd or even SSLs and oddword lines, respectively. A first row decoder of the two may beconnected to all of the string select lines (SSLs) and either even orodd word lines, and a second row decoder of the two is connected toeither odd or even word lines, respectively.

The substrate can comprise Si, the insulating layers can comprise SiO₂,and the word lines can comprise metal. Each storage cell may comprise acontrol gate, a first insulating region, a charge storage region and asecond insulating region. Each storage cell may comprise a metal gate asa control gate, a high-k region as a blocking layer, a nitride region asa charge storage layer, an oxide region as a tunnel layer.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a method of forming asemiconductor memory device comprises providing a substrate, forming achamber on the substrate, depositing a plurality of alternatinginsulating layers and sacrificial layers in the chamber, each layerhaving a horizontal first portion and at least one inclined secondportion, forming a hole substantially normal to the substrate andextending through the layers to the substrate, depositing a verticallyinclined memory string into the hole, the memory string comprising aplurality of storage cells, replacing the sacrificial layers withconductive layers to form a plurality of elongated word lines,respectively, and connecting first alternating word lines of theplurality to conductive lines disposed at a first side of the memorystring, and second alternating word lines of the plurality to conductivelines disposed at a second side of the memory string.

The method may further comprise forming a peripheral area on a surfaceat the level of the top of the memory string. The vertical memory stringcan be bar-sided; the method may further comprise forming a trench forx-cut to divide the memory string into two parallel strings. Thesubstrate can comprise Si, the insulating layers can comprise SiO₂, andthe word lines can comprise metal. The chamber can be recessed directlyinto the substrate.

The chamber can be formed on top of the substrate by forming insulatingsidewalls thereon. Each storage cell may comprise a metal gate as acontrol gate, a first insulating region, a charge storage region and asecond insulating region. Each storage cell may comprise a metal gate asa control gate, a high-K region as a blocking layer, a nitride region asa charge storage layer and an oxide region as a tunnel layer.

According to an embodiment, a semiconductor memory device may comprise asubstrate, a memory string disposed on and substantially normal to thesubstrate, the memory string comprising a plurality of storage cells,and a plurality of word lines, each word line includes a first portionsubstantially parallel to the substrate and coupled to the memory stringand a second portion substantially inclined relative to the substrateand extending upwardly, wherein first alternating word lines of theplurality are electrically connected to first conductive lines disposedat a first side of the memory string, and second alternating word linesof the plurality are electrically connected to second conductive linesdisposed at a second side of the memory string.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a semiconductor memory devicecomprises a substrate, a memory string disposed on and substantiallynormal to the substrate, the memory string comprising a plurality ofstorage cells, and a plurality of word lines, each word line includes afirst portion substantially parallel to the substrate and coupled to thememory string and a second portion substantially inclined relative tothe substrate and extending upwardly, wherein the word lines comprisefirst word lines selectively connected to first conductive linesdisposed at a first side of the memory string, and second word linesselectively connected to second conductive lines disposed at a secondside of the memory string.

The word lines may comprise at least one dummy word line. The first sidemay have a first row decoder and the second side may have a second rowdecoder.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a semiconductor memory device maycomprise a substrate, a memory string disposed on and substantiallynormal to the substrate, the memory string comprising a plurality ofstorage cells, a plurality of word lines; and at least two row decoders,wherein word lines have a first group of word lines electricallyconnected to one row decoder at a first side of the memory string and asecond group of word lines electrically connected to the other rowdecoder at a second side of the memory string. In the device as oneembodiment of the present disclosure, the first row decoder is connectedto one group of string select lines (SSLs) at a first side of the memorystring, and the second row decoders is connected to another group ofSSLs at a second side of the memory string. Alternatively, in the deviceof the present disclosure, either one of the two row decoders may beconnected to all of the string select lines (SSLs).

According to an exemplary embodiment, a method of forming asemiconductor memory device comprises providing a substrate, forming achamber on the substrate, depositing a plurality of alternatinginsulating layers and conductive layers in the chamber, the conductivelayers forming a plurality of word lines, each layer having a horizontalfirst portion and at least one inclined second portion, forming a holesubstantially normal to the substrate and extending through the layersto the substrate, depositing a vertically inclined memory string intothe hole, the memory string comprising a plurality of storage cells, andconnecting first alternating word lines of the plurality to contact padsdisposed at a first side of the memory string, and second alternatingword lines of the plurality to contact pads disposed at a second side ofthe memory string.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure provides a formation method and resultingsemiconductor device with distributed connections to conductive lines,with or without contact pads in accordance with the following exemplaryfigures, in which like reference indicia may be used to indicate likeelements, where:

FIGS. 1A and 1B show schematic plan views for a semiconductor device inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A shows a schematic sectional view taken along the line I-I′ ofFIGS. 1A and 1B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2B shows a schematic sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIGS.1A and 1B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2C shows a schematic sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIGS.1A through 1B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view for explaining an information storagelayer, for example a charge storage layer in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A through 4B show schematic plan views for explaining asemiconductor device in accordance with another exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 5A shows a schematic sectional view taken along line II-II′ ofFIGS. 4A through 4B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5B shows a schematic sectional view taken along line I′-II′ ofFIGS. 4A through 4B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6A shows a schematic view for explaining an information storagelayer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6B shows a schematic partial perspective view for explaining anexemplary vertical active memory string of either pillar or tubularshape in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic plan view for explaining another verticalactive memory string of bar-sided shape of a semiconductor device inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A shows a schematic sectional view taken along line III-III′ ofFIG. 7 showing also peripheral circuitry in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8B shows a schematic sectional view taken along line III-III′ ofFIG. 7 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8C shows a schematic sectional view taken along line of FIG. 7 inaccordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view for explaining a semiconductor devicein accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10A shows a schematic sectional view taken along line IV-IV′ ofFIG. 9 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10B shows a schematic sectional view taken along line IV-IV′ ofFIG. 9 in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10C shows a schematic sectional view taken along line IV-IV′ ofFIG. 9 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 11A through 11B show schematic plan views for explaining asemiconductor device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 12A shows a schematic sectional view taken along line V-V′ of FIGS.11A through 11B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 12B shows a schematic sectional view taken along line V-V′ of FIGS.11A through 11B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 12C shows a schematic sectional view taken along line V-V′ of FIGS.11A through 11B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 13A through 13H show schematic cross-sectional views forexplaining a method of forming a semiconductor device in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 14A and 14B show schematic plan views for explaining asemiconductor device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 15A shows a schematic sectional view taken along line VI-VI′ ofFIG. 14 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 15B shows a schematic sectional view taken along line VI-VI′ ofFIGS. 14A through 14B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 15C shows a schematic sectional view taken along line VI-VI′ ofFIGS. 14A and 14B in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 16A to 16I show schematic cross-sectional views for explaining amethod of forming a semiconductor device in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 shows a schematic block diagram of a memory system including asemiconductor device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 18 shows a schematic block diagram of a memory card having asemiconductor device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 19 shows a schematic block diagram of an information processingsystem mounted with a semiconductor device in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 20 shows a schematic block diagram of a nonvolatile memory devicein accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure providethree-dimensional semiconductor memory structures with improved anddistributed contact area margins. Particularly preferred embodimentsexhibit improved contact process margins for greater reliability. Inaddition, the present disclosure provides a layout of connectionsbetween either word lines or word lines and string select lines, and atleast two row decoders

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept are described in greaterdetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The inventiveconcept may, however, be embodied in different forms and shall not beconstrued as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will convey the scope of the inventive concept tothose skilled in the art. In addition, since reference indicia such asnumerals and/or characters are used for the exemplary embodiments, suchreference numerals and/or characters provided according to the order ofthe explanation are not necessarily limited to that order. In thefigures, the dimensions of layers and regions may be exaggerated forclarity of illustration. It will also be understood that when an elementor feature, such as a layer or a film, is referred to as being ‘on’another element or feature, such as another layer or a substrate, it canbe directly on the other layer or substrate, or intervening layers mayalso be present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

A semiconductor device according to a first embodiment of the inventiveconcept will now be described. FIGS. 1A through 1B show a plan view forexplaining a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of theinventive concept, and FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along the lineI-I′ of FIGS. 1A through 1B.

The semiconductor device of the present disclosure includes a memorycell array region, a row decoder, a column decoder, an interconnectionto connect the memory cell array to outside element of the semiconductordevice, for example a voltage generator or generating unit and a controlunit. Interconnection may be connected to conductive via or plug, padthat vertically extends to other layers, patterns, or lines.

The semiconductor device of the present disclosure includes threedimensionally a plurality of memory cells. As one of our embodiment ofthe disclosure, the memory device includes a memory string thatvertically extends on the planar substrate. The memory string mayinclude a control gate, a first insulating layer, a charge storagelayer, a second insulating layer, and an active region where a channelwill be formed. A charge storage layer may be an insulating layer ornano-dots that can trap charges or any other information storage regionmay be changeable. The insulating layer for charge storage comprisessilicon nitride or silicon oxy-nitride wherein the content of nitride issufficiently richer that that of oxygen. A first insulating layer ispositioned between the active region and the charge storage layer. Thefirst insulating layer may comprise silicon oxide or thin (e.g., betweenabout 5 and about 150 angstroms) multilayers comprising any of siliconoxide, silicon oxy-nitride and silicon nitride. The second insulatinglayer may be positioned between the charge storage layer and the controlgate. The second insulating layer may be any of silicon oxide, high-kmaterial, aluminum oxide and combination thereof.

The active region may be of various types. For example, the shape may beof pillar or columnar, tubular, or bar-sided shape. The tubular activeregion may surround a core of insulating material.

Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1B and 2A, a substrate 101 is provided.The substrate 101 may be a semiconductor-based substrate and may besubstantially planar. The substrate may be of silicon, preferably ofmonocrystalline Si. The substrate 101 may include a doped region forexample a well that includes a first type dopant. A source region may bedisposed in the substrate 101. Some group of memory strings can shareone source line, a common source line. The common source region may bedisposed in a plate form or some portion within a cell region of thesubstrate. The common source region may include a high concentration ofa second conductive type, which is different from the conductive type ofthe dopant included in the well. For example, in the case where the wellincludes a p-type dopant, the common source region may include a highconcentration of n-type dopant.

The substrate 101 may be horizontally planar. The protruded portion maybe formed on the substrate 101. The protruded portion may be depositedon the substrate 101. The material of the protruded portion may be ofsilicon or of insulating layer. The resultant surface includes a concaveportion A, or a chamber from the planar substrate 101 and convex portionB from the protruded portion. The concave portion A may include a bottomsurface 103, and first and second sidewalls 105 and 106 facing eachother. The resultant substrate 101 may include a convex portion orportions B extended from the first and second sidewalls 105 and 106. Atop surface of the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottomsurface 103 of the concave portion A. The concave portion A and theconvex portion B may be alternatively formed by etching a portion of asemiconductor substrate corresponding to the concave portion A andleaving a portion of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to theconvex portion B. In this case, the substrate 101 may be one bodysubstrate. A memory cell may be disposed in the concave portion A. Ifthe protruded portion may be formed of an insulating layer andperipheral circuitry is to be formed on the protruded portion, siliconlayer is further formed on the protruded portion for Silicon onInsulator (SOI) type.

Next, the memory cell will be described. The concave portion A forming achamber may have a first contact region CR1 adjacent to the firstsidewall 105, and a second contact region CR2 adjacent to the secondsidewall 106. A cell array region CAR may be disposed between the firstcontact region CR1 and the second contact region CR2. That is, the firstcontact region CR1 and the second contact region CR2 may be spaced apartfrom each other with the cell array region CAR in-between. Conductivepatterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL spaced apart from one another may be disposedon the substrate 101. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL mayinclude a ground select line GSL, word lines WL1-WL4, and a stringselect line (SSL), respectively on the concave portion A of thesubstrate 101, which may be formed by sequentially stacking them along aresultant surface. Moreover, interlayer insulators may be disposedbetween the adjacent word lines for inhibiting unwanted short betweensuch adjacent conductive patterns. The memory device of the presentdisclosure may comprise dummy word lines near GSL and/or SSL or betweenword lines. The word lines, GSL and SSL may be formed by stackingconductive lines and interlayer insulating layers. In anotherembodiment, stacking word lines, GSL and SSL and interlayer insulatinglayers may be conducted multiple times.

The memory array may be of three dimensional, which means that aplurality of memory cells that can store information may be disposed onand/or above the planar substrate. A switching element for activating amemory cell may be of a transistor or a diode type. The type of a memorycell may be volatile or non-volatile. For example, the memory device ofthe present disclosure may be a flash memory device.

The active memory string structure region for a three-dimensional memorymay be parallel or vertical to the planar substrate 101. Preferably, theactive memory string structure may be vertical on the planar substrate.The active memory string structure may be formed of silicon; the shapeof the active memory string structure may be columnar, pillar, tubularor bar-sided. The active memory string structure may be formed ofmonocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, or the like. Theactive memory string structure may be formed with amorphous silicon thentransforming to polycrystalline silicon.

A memory string is vertical to the planar substrate, comprising acontrol gate, a first insulating layer, a charge storage layer, a secondinsulating layer, and an active memory string. A memory string has afirst side and a second side. The insulating layer for charge storagecomprises silicon nitride or silicon oxy-nitride wherein the content ofnitride is sufficiently richer that that of oxygen. A first insulatinglayer is positioned between the active region and the charge storagelayer. The first insulating layer may comprise silicon oxide or thin(e.g., between about 5 and about 150 angstroms) multilayers comprisingany of silicon oxide, silicon oxy-nitride and silicon nitride. Thesecond insulating layer may be positioned between the charge storagelayer and the control gate. The second insulating layer may be any ofsilicon oxide, high-k material, aluminum oxide and combination thereof.

The conductive patterns GSL, for example, WL1-WL4, SSL are spaced apartfrom one another with inter-gate insulating layers 111-116 in-between.For example, the ground select line GSL, the first inter-gate insulatinglayer 111, the first word line WL1, the second inter-gate insulatinglayer 112, the second word line WL2, the third inter-gate insulatinglayer 113, the third word line WL3, the fourth inter-gate insulatinglayer 114, the fourth word line WL4, the fifth inter-gate insulatinglayer 115 and the string select line SSL may be sequentially stacked.

A ground select insulating layer 110 are disposed between the bottomsurface 103 of the concave portion A, the first and second sidewalls105, 106, and the ground select line GSL. A string select insulatinglayer 116 may be disposed on the string select line SSL. The insulatinglayers 110-115 include bottom portions above the bottom surface 103 ofthe concave portion A, and sidewall portions extended over the firstsidewall 105 and the second sidewall 106 from the bottom portionsthereof.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 103 of the concave portion A. Thebottom portions BP may be in parallel with the bottom surface 103.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include upwardly incliningportions. The upwardly inclining portion may include contact incliningportion CT, which is extended over one of the first sidewall 105 and thesecond sidewall 106 from one ends of the bottom portions BP. A contactregion where the inclining portion of any one of the conductive patternsis disposed may be different from a contact region where the incliningportion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any one of theconductive patterns. For example, in the case where the contactinclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL is disposed in thefirst contact region CR1, the contact inclining portion CT of the firstword line WL1 adjacent to the ground select line GSL may be disposed inthe second contact region CR2.

An extended line of the contact inclining portion CT may cross thebottom surface 103. For example, the extended line may cross the bottomsurface 103 at a right angle. In one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a top surface of the contact inclining portion CT may becoplanar with the top surface of the convex portion B. An angle betweenthe inclining portion CT and the bottom portion BP may be 50 to 90°.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may also include dummyinclining portions DCT extended over the other one of the first sidewall105 and the second sidewall 106 from the other ends of the bottomportions BP on the bottom surface 103. A contact region where the dummyinclining portion of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL is disposed may be different from a contact region where the dummyinclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any oneof the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where the dummyinclining portion DCT of the string select line SSL is disposed in thefirst contact region CR1, the dummy inclining portion DCT of the fourthword line WL4 adjacent to the string select line SSL may be disposed inthe second contact region CR2.

Each of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include onecontact inclining portion CT and one dummy inclining portion DCT. In oneof the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL, a length of the dummyinclining portion DCT may be shorter than that of the contact incliningportion CT. The contact inclining portion CT may be disposed between thedummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to each other. The contactinclining portions CT adjacent to one of the dummy inclining portionsDCT may be spaced apart from each other by the sidewalls of theinsulating layers interposed therebetween. In other words, some group ofword lines are connected to conductive lines at a first side of thememory string, and some group of word lines are connected to conductivelines at a second side of the memory string, thereby obtaining morecontact margin for interconnection.

A dummy insulating layer pattern 124 may be disposed on the dummyinclining portion DCT. A top surface of the dummy insulating layerpattern 124 may be coplanar with the top surface of the convex portionB. The top surface of the dummy insulating layer pattern 124 may becoplanar with a top surface of the string select insulating layer 116.Sidewalls of the dummy insulating layer pattern 124 may be coplanar withsidewalls of the dummy inclining portion DCT. The dummy insulating layerpattern 124 may include the same material as the insulating layers110-116.

Conductive plugs may be disposed on the contact inclining portions CT ofthe word lines WL1-WL4, respectively. The conductive plugs may be wordline contact plugs CP. The word lines WL1-WL4 may be electricallyconnected with the word line contact plugs CP, respectively. Widths ofthe word line contact plugs CP may be wider than those of the topsurfaces of the contact inclining portions CT of the word lines WL1-WL4.The widths of word line contact plugs CP may be greater than widthsbetween the dummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to the contactinclining portions CT of the word lines WL1-WL4. The word line contactplugs CP may penetrate a first interlayer insulating layer 160. Firstconductive lines ML1 may be disposed on the word line contact plugs CPand the first interlayer insulating layer 160. The word line contactplugs CP may be electrically connected with the first conductive linesML1. Some of the first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a firstdirection. Other first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a seconddirection opposite to the first direction. For example, the firstconductive lines ML1 connected with the word lines WL2, WL4 positionedat odd-numbered layers of the conductive patterns above the substrate101 may extend in the first direction, and the first conductive linesML1 connected with the word lines WL1, WL3 positioned at even-numberedlayers of the conductive patterns above the substrate 101 may extend inthe second direction. The first direction may be a direction from I′ toI. The first conductive lines ML1 may be electrically connected with theword lines WL1-WL4 through the word line contact plugs CP.Alternatively, the first conductive lines ML1 may be directly connectedwith the word lines WL1-WL4. A second interlayer insulating layer 170covering the first conductive lines ML1 may be disposed. The first andsecond interlayer insulating layers 160 and 170 may include the samematerial.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe ground select line GSL. The conductive plug may be a ground selectcontact plug GCP. The ground select line GSL may be electricallyconnected with the ground select contact plug GCP. A width of the groundselect contact plug GCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL. Theground select contact plug GCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 160. A second conductive line ML2 may be disposed onthe ground select contact plug GCP and the first interlayer insulatinglayer 160. The ground select contact plug GCP may be electricallyconnected with the second conductive line ML2. The second conductiveline ML2 may extend in the first direction. The second conductive lineML2 may be electrically connected with the ground select line GSLthrough the ground select contact plug GCP. Alternatively, the groundselect line GSL may be directly connected with the second conductiveline ML2. The second interlayer insulating layer 170 may cover thesecond conductive line ML2.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe string select line SSL. The conductive plug may be a string selectcontact plug SCP. The string select line SSL may be electricallyconnected with the string select contact plug SCP. A width of the stringselect contact plug SCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the string select line SSL. Thestring select contact plug SCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 160 and the second interlayer insulating layer 170. Athird conductive line ML3 may be disposed on the string select contactplug SCP, the second interlayer insulating layer 170. The string selectcontact plug SCP may be electrically connected with the third conductiveline ML3. The third conductive line ML3 may extend in the seconddirection. Referring to FIG. 1B, a plurality of the string select lineSSL may dispose in the concave portion. And the third conductive linesML3 of the string select lines SSL adjacent to each other may extenddifferent direction. In another embodiment of the present disclosure,conductive pads may be interposed between a contact pad and contactinclining portion CT.

The conductive lines ML1-ML3 may extend separated in the first andsecond directions with the cell array region CAR in-between. Forexample, the conductive lines ML1, ML2 connected with the conductivepatterns GSL, WL2, WL4 of which the contact inclining portions CT aredisposed in the first contact region CR1 may extend in the firstdirection, and the conductive lines ML2, ML3 connected with theconductive patterns WL1, WL3, SSL of which the contact incliningportions CT are disposed in the second contact region CR2 may extend inthe second direction.

As one embodiment of the present disclosure, an active memory stringstructure extending upward from the bottom surface 103 of the concaveportion A may be disposed. The active memory string structure extendsvertical to the substrate 101, penetrating the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL so that one end of the active memory string structure maybe electrically connected with the common source region. A drain regionD may be disposed at the other end of the active memory stringstructure. The drain region D may be a region doped with a highconcentration of dopant. For example, the active memory string structuremay be of n doped type.

A bit line contact plug BLCP may be disposed on the drain region D ofthe active memory string structure. The bit line contact plug BLCP maybe electrically connected with the drain region D and penetrate thefirst interlayer insulating layer 160. A bit line BL may be disposed onthe bit line contact plug BLCP. The bit line BL may be connected withthe drain region D of the active memory string structure through the bitline contact plug BLCP. Unlike this, the bit line BL may be directlyconnected with the drain region D. The bit line BL may extend in a thirddirection crossing the first and the second direction. The thirddirection may cross the first and second direction at a right angle. Thebit line BL may cross the string select line SSL.

An information storage layer 132 may be disposed between a sidewall ofthe active memory string structure and the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL. The information storage layer 132 may be provided in acylindrical type penetrating the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL.The information storage layer 132 may be provided to surround the activememory string structure. The information storage layer 132 may bedisposed between the sidewall of the active memory string structure andthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers110-116.

The active memory string, the information storage layer and theconductive patterns according to a first embodiment of the inventiveconcept will be specifically described. FIG. 3 is a view for explainingan information storage layer according to a first embodiment of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 3, the information storage layer 132 may include atunnel insulating layer 136, a charge storage layer 135 and a blockinglayer 134.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an interconnection, extending outside oneedge of the cell array portion, is electrically connected to contactinclining portion of a word line at one side, whereas anotherinterconnection, extending outside the other edge of the cell arrayportion, is electrically connected to contact inclining portion of aword line at another side. According to FIG. 1A, all SSLs are connectedto interconnections at either side, whereas some SSLs are connected tointerconnections at one side, and some SSLs are connected tointerconnections at another side for FIG. 1B. The word line may bechosen alternatingly. That is, odd numbered word lines from bottom totop direction of a string for example, first, third, fifth word linesare connected to interconnections at one side of a string, and evennumbered word lines for example, second, fourth, sixth word linesconnected to interconnections at the other side of a string.

The tunnel insulating layer 136 may cover the sidewalls of the activememory string structure. The tunnel insulating layer 136 may have asingle layer structure or a multilayer structure. The tunnel insulatinglayer 136 may include at least one selected from the group consisting ofa silicon oxy-nitride layer, a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxidelayer and a metal oxide layer.

The charge storage layer 135 may cover the tunnel insulating layer 136.The charge storage layer 135 may be spaced apart from the active memorystring structure by the tunnel insulating layer 136. The charge storagelayer 135 may include charge trap sites, which can store charges. Forexample, the charge storage layer 135 may include at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of a silicon nitride layer, a metal nitridelayer, a metal oxy-nitride layer, a metal silicon oxide layer, a metalsilicon oxy-nitride layer and nanodots.

The blocking layer 134 may be disposed between the charge storage layer135 and the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. The blocking layer134 may be disposed between the charge storage layer 135 and theinsulating layers 110-116. The blocking layer 134 may cover the chargestorage layer 135. The blocking layer 134 may include at least oneselected from the group consisting of a silicon oxide layer, a siliconnitride layer, a silicon oxy-nitride layer and high-k dielectric. Thehigh-k insulating layers may include hafnium (Hf), zirconium (Zr),aluminum (Al), tantalum (Ta), lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), praseodymium(Pr) or the like. A dielectric constant of the blocking layer 134 may behigher than that of the tunnel insulating layer 136.

A modified example of the first embodiment of the inventive concept willnow be described. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ ofFIG. 1, for explaining a modified example of the first embodiment of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2B, a substrate 100 is provided. A commonsource region may be disposed in the substrate 100. The substrate 100may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 103, and first and second sidewalls 105 and 106 facingeach other. The substrate 100 may include a convex portion B extendingfrom the first and second sidewalls 105 and 106. The convex portion Bmay be defined by an insulating layer 104 on the substrate 100.

A memory cell may be disposed in the concave portion A. The concaveportion A may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to the firstsidewall 105, and a second contact region CR2 adjacent to the secondsidewall 106. The memory cell may be the memory cell explained withreference to FIG. 2A.

A semiconductor device according to another modified example of thefirst embodiment of the inventive concept will now be described. FIG. 2Cis a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1A through FIG. 1B,for showing another modified example of the first embodiment of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1B and 2C, a substrate 101 is provided. Acommon source region may be disposed in the substrate 101. The substrate101 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 103, and first and second sidewalls 105 and 106 facingeach other. Any one of the first and second sidewalls 105 and 106 may beinclined to the bottom surface 103 of the concave portion A. Forexample, the first sidewall 105 and the second sidewall 106 may have anangle, which is 50° to 90° with respect to the bottom surface 103. Aslope of the first sidewall 105 with respect to the bottom surface 103may be equal to that of the second sidewall 106 with respect to thebottom surface 103. Alternatively, the slope of the first sidewall 105with respect to the bottom surface 103 may be different from that of thesecond sidewall 106 with respect to the bottom surface 103. Thesubstrate 101 may include a convex portion B extending from the firstand second sidewalls 105 and 106. A top surface of the convex portion Bmay be in parallel with the bottom surface 103 of the concave portion A.The concave portion A and the convex portion B of the substrate 101 maybe defined through an etching process. Alternatively, as described withreference to FIG. 2B, the convex portion B may be defined by theinsulating layer 104 on the substrate 100.

A memory cell may be disposed in the concave portion A. The memory cellwill now be described. The memory cell may be the memory cell explainedwith reference to FIG. 2A. The concave portion A may have a firstcontact region CR1 adjacent to the first sidewall 105, and a secondcontact region CR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 106. A contactinclining portion CT and a dummy inclining portion DCT of any one of theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may have an inclined slope withrespect to a bottom portion BP.

An angle between the sidewall adjacent to the contact region where thecontact inclining portion CT is disposed and the bottom surface 103 maybe equal to an angle between the contact inclining portion CT and thebottom portion BP. For example, in the case of the first word line WL1,a slope of the contact inclining portion CT with respect to the bottomportion BP may be equal to a slope of the second sidewall 106 withrespect to the bottom surface 103. When the slopes of the first sidewall105 and the second sidewall 106 with respect to the bottom surface 103are different from each other, in any one conductive pattern, the slopeof the contact inclining portion with respect to the bottom portion BPmay be different from the slope of the dummy inclining portion DCT withrespect to the bottom portion BP.

FIG. 1 a illustrates a memory device wherein the memory device comprisesat least two row decoder assigned to a cell array and all of the stringselect lines (SSL) are connected to one row decoder whereas FIG. 1 billustrates a memory device wherein the even string select lines areconnected to one row decoder and the odd string select lines areconnected to the other row decoder.

A semiconductor device according to a second embodiment of the inventiveconcept will now be described. FIG. 4A through FIG. 4B is a plan viewfor explaining a semiconductor device according to a second embodimentof the inventive concept, and FIG. 5A is a sectional view taken alongline II-II′ of FIGS. 4A through 4B.

Referring to FIGS. 4A through 4B and 5A, a substrate 201 is provided.The substrate 201 may be a semiconductor-based substrate. The substrate201 may include a doped well. The well may include a first conductivetype dopant. A common source region 202 may be disposed in the substrate201. The common source region 202 may be disposed in a plate form withina cell region of the substrate 201. The common source region 202 mayinclude a high concentration of dopant. The dopant included in thecommon source region 202 may have a second conductive type, which isdifferent from the conductive type of the dopant included in the well.For example, in the case where the well includes a p-type dopant, thecommon source region 202 may include a high concentration of n-typedopant.

The substrate 201 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion Amay include a bottom surface 203, and first and second sidewalls 205 and206 facing each other. The substrate 201 may include a convex portion Bextended from the first and second sidewalls 205 and 206. A top surfaceof the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface ofthe concave portion A. The concave portion A and the convex portion Bmay be formed by etching a portion of a semiconductor substratecorresponding to the concave portion A and leaving a portion of thesemiconductor substrate corresponding to the convex portion B. In thiscase, the substrate 201 may be one body substrate. A memory cell may bedisposed in the concave portion A.

The concave portion A may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent tothe first sidewall 205, and a second contact region CR2 adjacent to thesecond sidewall 206. A cell array region CAR may be disposed between thefirst contact region CR1 and the second contact region CR2. The firstcontact region CR1 and the second contact region CR2 may be spaced apartfrom each other with the cell array region CAR in-between.

Conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL spaced apart from one another maybe disposed on the substrate 201. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL may include a ground select line GSL, word lines WL1-WL4, and astring select line SSL, which are sequentially stacked on the concaveportion A of the substrate 201. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL may be spaced apart from one another with inter-gate insulatinglayers 210-214 in-between. For example, the ground select line GSL, thefirst inter-gate insulating layer 210, the first word line WL1, thesecond inter-gate insulating layer 211, the second word line WL2, thethird inter-gate insulating layer 212, the third word line WL3, thefourth inter-gate insulating layer 213, the fourth word line WL4, thefifth inter-gate insulating layer 214 and the string select line SSL maybe sequentially stacked. The insulating layers 210-214 may includebottom portions above the bottom surface 203 of the concave portion A ofthe substrate 201, and sidewall portions extended over the firstsidewall 205 and the second sidewall 206 from the bottom portionsthereof. A string select insulating layer 215 may be disposed on thestring select line SSL. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL mayhave a line form extending in a first direction. The first direction maybe a direction of line II-II′. That is, the memory device of thisembodiment is the device that includes a trench for x-cut therebyseparating word line plate in a cell array memory. The separated wordlines of substantially same level are electrically connected each otherand will act as one word line plate.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 203 of the concave portion A. Lengthsof the bottom portions BP may be shortened as it goes far from theconcave portion A of the substrate 201. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the bottom surface 203. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the top surface of the convex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over one of the first sidewall 205 and the secondsidewall 206 from one ends of the bottom portions BP. A contact regionwhere the contact inclining portion of any one of the conductivepatterns is disposed may be different from a contact region where thecontact inclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to theany one of the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where thecontact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL is disposedin the first contact region CR1, the contact inclining portion CT of thefirst word line WL1 adjacent to the ground select line GSL may bedisposed in the second contact region CR2.

An extended line of the contact inclining portion CT may cross thebottom surface 203, for example, at a right angle. A length of thecontact inclining portion CT may be decreased as it goes far from theconcave portion A. A top surface of the contact inclining portion CT maybe coplanar with the top surface of the convex portion B. An anglebetween the contact inclining portion CT and the bottom portion BP maybe 90°.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include dummy incliningportions DCT extended over the other one of the first sidewall 205 andthe second sidewall 206 from the other ends of the bottom portions BP onthe bottom surface 203. A contact region where the dummy incliningportion of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL isdisposed may be different from a contact region where the dummyinclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any oneof the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where the dummyinclining portion DCT of the string select line SSL is disposed in thefirst contact region CR1, the dummy inclining portion DCT of the fourthword line WL4 adjacent to the string select line SSL may be disposed inthe second contact region CR2.

Each of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include onecontact inclining portion CT and one dummy inclining portion DCT. In oneof the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL, a length of the dummyinclining portion DCT may be shorter than that of the contact incliningportion CT. The contact inclining portion CT may be disposed between thedummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to each other. The contactinclining portions CT adjacent to one of the dummy inclining portionsDCT may be spaced apart from each other by the sidewalls of theinsulating layers interposed therebetween.

A dummy insulating layer pattern 264 may be disposed on the dummyinclining portion DCT. A top surface of the dummy insulating layerpattern 264 may be coplanar with the top surface of the convex portionB. The top surface of the dummy insulating layer pattern 264 may becoplanar with a top surface of the string select insulating layer 215.Sidewalls of the dummy insulating layer pattern 264 may be coplanar withsidewalls of the dummy inclining portion DCT. The dummy insulating layerpattern 264 may include the same material as the insulating layers210-215.

Conductive plugs may be disposed on the contact inclining portions CT ofthe word lines WL1-WL4, respectively. The conductive plugs may be wordline contact plugs CP. The word lines WL1-WL4 may be electricallyconnected with the word line contact plugs CP, respectively. Widths ofthe word line contact plugs CP may be wider than those of the topsurfaces of the contact inclining portions CT of the word lines WL1-WL4.The widths of the word line contact plugs CP may be wider than widthsbetween the dummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to the contactinclining portions of the word lines WL1-WL4. The word line contactplugs may penetrate a first interlayer insulating layer 280. Firstconductive lines ML1 may be disposed on the word line contact plugs CPand the first interlayer insulating layer 280. The word line contactplugs CP may be electrically connected with the first conductive linesML1. The first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a second directioncrossing the first direction. The first conductive lines ML1 may beelectrically connected with the word lines WL1-WL4 through the word linecontact plugs CP. Unlike this, the first conductive lines ML1 may bedirectly connected with the word lines WL1-WL4. A second interlayerinsulating layer 290 covering the first conductive lines ML1 may bedisposed. The first and second interlayer insulating layers 280 and 290may include the same material.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe ground select line GSL. The conductive plug may be a ground selectcontact plug GCP. The ground select line GSL may be electricallyconnected with the ground select contact plug GCP. A width of the groundselect contact plug GCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL. Theground select contact plug GCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 280. A second conductive line ML2 may be disposed onthe ground select contact plug GCP and the first interlayer insulatinglayer 280. The ground select contact plug GCP may be electricallyconnected with the second conductive line ML2. The second conductiveline ML2 may extend in the second direction. The second conductive lineML2 may be electrically connected with the ground select line GSLthrough the ground select contact plug GCP. Unlike this, the groundselect line GSL may be directly connected with the second conductiveline ML2. The second interlayer insulating layer 290 may cover thesecond conductive line ML2.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe string select line SSL. The conductive plug may be a string selectcontact plug SCP. The string select line SSL may be electricallyconnected with the string select contact plug SCP. A width of the stringselect contact plug SCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the string select line SSL. Thestring select contact plug SCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 280 and the second interlayer insulating layer 290. Athird conductive line ML3 may be disposed on the string select contactplug SCP and the second interlayer insulating layer 290. The stringselect contact plug SCP may be electrically connected with the thirdconductive line ML3. The third conductive line ML3 may extend in thefirst direction. Referring to the FIG. 4B, a plurality of the stringselect line SSL may dispose in the concave portion. And the thirdconductive lines ML3 of the string select lines SSL adjacent to eachother may extend different direction.

The conductive lines ML1, ML2 may be disposed separated in both sideswith the cell array region CAR in-between. The conductive line connectedwith one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4 may be disposed in acontact region different from the conductive line connected with theconductive pattern adjacent to the one conductive pattern. For example,the first conductive line ML1 connected with the first word line WL1 maybe disposed in the second contact region CR2, and the second conductiveline ML2 and the first conductive line ML1 respectively connected withthe ground select line GSL and the second word line WL2 adjacent to thefirst word line WL1 may be disposed in the first contact region CR1.

An active memory string structure extending upward from the bottomsurface 203 of the concave portion A may be disposed. The active memorystring structure may extend perpendicular to the substrate 201. Theactive memory string structure may penetrate the conductive patternsGSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. Unlike this, the active memory string structure facesthe sidewalls of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. One end ofthe active memory string structure may be electrically connected withthe common source region 202. A drain region D may be disposed at theother end of the active memory string. The drain region D may be aregion doped with a high concentration of dopant. The active memorystring structure may include a single crystalline semiconductor.

A bit line contact plug BLCP may be disposed on the drain region D ofthe active memory string structure. The bit line contact plug BLCP maybe electrically connected with the drain region D and penetrate thefirst interlayer insulating layer 280. A bit line BL may be disposed onthe bit line contact plug BLCP. The bit line BL may be connected withthe drain region D of the active memory string structure through the bitline contact plug BLCP. Unlike this, the bit line BL may be directlyconnected with the drain region D. The bit line BL may extend in thesecond direction. The bit line BL may cross the third conductive lineML3.

An information storage layer 240 may be disposed between the sidewall ofthe active memory string structure and the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL. The information storage layer 240 may be disposed betweenthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers210-215.

The active memory string, the information storage layer and theconductive patterns according to a second embodiment of the inventiveconcept will be specifically described. FIG. 6A is a view for explainingan information storage layer according to a second embodiment of theinventive concept.

FIG. 4 a illustrates a memory device wherein the memory device comprisesat least two row decoder assigned to a cell array and all of the stringselect lines (SSL) are connected to one row decoder whereas FIG. 4 billustrates a memory device wherein the even string select lines areconnected to one row decoder and the odd string select lines areconnected to the other row decoder.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the information storage layer 240 may include atunnel insulating layer 242, a charge storage layer 244 and a blockinglayer 246.

The tunnel insulating layer 242 may cover the sidewall of the activememory string structure. The tunnel insulating layer 242 may have asingle layer structure or a multilayer structure. For example, thetunnel insulating layer 242 may include at least one selected from thegroup consisting of a silicon oxy-nitride layer, a silicon nitridelayer, a silicon oxide layer and a metal oxide layer.

The charge storage layer 244 may cover the tunnel insulating layer 242.The charge storage layer 244 may be spaced apart from the active memorystring structure by the tunnel insulating layer 242. The charge storagelayer 244 may include charge trap sites, which can store charges. Forexample, the charge storage layer 244 may include at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of a silicon nitride layer, a metal nitridelayer, a metal oxy-nitride layer, a metal silicon oxide layer, a metalsilicon oxy-nitride layer and nanodots.

The blocking layer 246 may be disposed between the charge storage layer244 and the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. The blocking layer246 may be disposed between the charge storage layer 244 and theinsulating layers 210-215. The blocking layer 246 may cover the chargestorage layer 244. The blocking layer 246 may include at least oneselected from the group consisting of a silicon oxide layer, a siliconnitride layer, a silicon oxy-nitride layer and high-k insulating layers.The high-k insulating layers may include hafnium (Hf), zirconium (Zr),aluminum (Al), tantalum (Ta), lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), praseodymium(Pr) or the like. A dielectric constant of the blocking layer 246 may behigher than that of the tunnel insulating layer 242.

A modified example of the active according to the second embodiment ofthe inventive concept will be described. FIG. 6B is a partialperspective view for explaining an active according to a modifiedexample of the second embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 6B, an information storage layer 240 including thetunnel insulating layer 242, the charge storage layer 244 and theblocking layer 246 described with reference to FIG. 6A is disposedbetween the conductive patterns WL1, GSL and the active memory stringstructure. The active memory string structure may face sidewalls of thebottom portions BP of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1.

A modified example of the second embodiment of the inventive conceptwill now be described. FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along lineII-II′ of FIGS. 4A through 4B, for explaining a modified example of thesecond embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5B, a substrate 200 is provided. A commonsource region 202 may be disposed in the substrate 200. The substrate200 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 203, and first and second sidewalls 205 and 206 facingeach other. The substrate 200 may include a convex portion B extendingfrom the first and second sidewalls 205 and 206. A top surface of theconvex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface 203 of theconcave portion A. The convex portion B may be defined by an insulatinglayer 204 disposed on the substrate 200.

A memory cell may be disposed in the concave portion A. The concaveportion A may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to the firstsidewall 205, and a second contact region CR2 adjacent to the secondsidewall 206. The memory cell may be the memory cell explained withreference to FIG. 5A.

A semiconductor device according to another modified example of thesecond embodiment of the inventive concept will now be described. FIG.5C is a sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 4, for showinganother modified example of the second embodiment of the inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5C, a substrate 201 is provided. A commonsource region 202 may be disposed in the substrate 201. The substrate201 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 203, and first and second sidewalls 205 and 206 facingeach other. Any one of the first and second sidewalls 205 and 206 may beinclined to the bottom surface 203 of the concave portion A. Forexample, the first sidewall 205 and the second sidewall 206 may have anangle, which is 50° and less than 90° with respect to the bottom surface203. A slope of the first sidewall 205 with respect to the bottomsurface 203 may be equal to that of the second sidewall 206 with respectto the bottom surface 203. Alternatively, the slope of the firstsidewall 205 with respect to the bottom surface 203 may be differentfrom that of the second sidewall 206 with respect to the bottom surface203. The substrate 201 may include a convex portion B extending awayfrom the first and second sidewalls 205 and 206. A top surface of theconvex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface 203 of theconcave portion A. The concave portion A and the convex portion B of thesubstrate 201 may be defined through an etching process. Alternatively,as described with reference to FIG. 5B, the convex portion B may bedefined by the insulating layer 204 on the substrate 200.

A memory cell may be disposed in the concave portion A. The memory cellwill now be described. The memory cell may be the memory cell explainedwith reference to FIG. 5A. The concave portion A may have a firstcontact region CR1 adjacent to the first sidewall 205, and a secondcontact region CR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 206. A contactinclining portion CT and a dummy inclining portion DCT of any one of theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may have an inclined slope withrespect to a bottom portion BP.

An angle between the sidewall adjacent to the contact region where thecontact inclining portion CT is disposed and the bottom surface 203 maybe equal to an angle between the contact inclining portion CT and thebottom portion BP. For example, in the case of the first word line WL1,a slope of the contact inclining portion CT with respect to the bottomportion BP may be equal to a slope of the second sidewall 206 withrespect to the bottom surface 203. When the slopes of the first sidewall205 and the second sidewall 206 with respect to the bottom surface 203are different from each other, in any one conductive pattern, the slopeof the contact inclining portion with respect to the bottom portion BPmay be different from the slope of the dummy inclining portion DCT withrespect to the bottom portion BP.

Referring to FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, an active may be formed of silicon, theshape of the active region may be of pillar, tubular or bar-sided shape.The active may be formed of monocrystalline silicon, polycrystallinesilicon. The active may be formed with amorphous silicon thentransforming to polycrystalline silicon. FIG. 6 b shows a verticalactive memory string of bar-sided shapes. The inventive concept of thepresent disclosure is not limited to the shape of the actives. Thus, theactive memory string of tubular type or pillar type can be applied tothe memory devices of FIG. 1 and FIG. 4.

A semiconductor device according to a third embodiment of the inventiveconcept will now be described. FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining asemiconductor device according to a third embodiment of the inventiveconcept, and FIG. 8A is a sectional view taken along line of III-III′FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8A, a substrate 301 is provided. The substrate301 may be a semiconductor-based substrate. The substrate 301 mayinclude a well. The well may include a first conductive type dopant. Acommon source region 302 may be disposed in the substrate 301. Thecommon source region 302 may be disposed in a plate form within a cellregion of the substrate 301. The common source region 302 may include ahigh concentration of dopant. The dopant included in the common sourceregion 302 may have a second conductive type, which is different fromthe conductive type of the dopant included in the well. For example, inthe case where the well includes a p-type dopant, the common sourceregion 302 may include a high concentration of n-type dopant.

The substrate 301 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion Amay include a bottom surface 303, and a first sidewall 306. Thesubstrate 301 may include a convex portion B extended from the firstsidewall 306. A top surface of the convex portion B may be in parallelwith the bottom surface of the concave portion A. The concave portion Aand the convex portion B may be formed by etching a portion of asemiconductor substrate corresponding to the concave portion A andleaving a portion of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to theconvex portion B. In this case, the substrate 301 may be one bodysubstrate.

The substrate 301 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. The cellregion α may include the concave portion A and the convex portion B. Inthe peripheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.The peripheral circuit region β may include the convex portion B.

The cell region α of the substrate 301 will now be described.

Conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL spaced apart from one another maybe disposed on the concave portion A of the substrate 301. Theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include a ground select lineGSL, word lines WL1-WL4, and a string select line SSL, which aresequentially stacked on the concave portion A of the substrate 301. Theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may be spaced apart from oneanother with inter-gate insulating layers 311-315 in-between. Forexample, the ground select line GSL, the first inter-gate insulatinglayer 311, the first word line WL1, the second inter-gate insulatinglayer 312, the second word line WL2, the third inter-gate insulatinglayer 313, the third word line WL3, the fourth inter-gate insulatinglayer 314, the fourth word line WL4, the fifth inter-gate insulatinglayer 315 and the string select line SSL may be sequentially stacked.

A ground select insulating layer 310 may be disposed between the bottomsurface 303 of the concave portion A of the substrate 301, the firstsidewall 306, and the ground select line GSL. A string select insulatinglayer 316 may be disposed on the string select line SSL. The insulatinglayers 310-315 may include bottom portions above the bottom surface 303of the concave portion A, and sidewall portions extended over the firstsidewall 306 from the bottom portions thereof.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 303 of the concave portion A. Lengthsof the bottom portions BP may be shortened as it goes far from theconcave portion A of the substrate 301. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the bottom surface 303. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the top surface of the convex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over the first sidewall 306 from one ends of thebottom portions BP. An extended line of the contact inclining portion CTmay cross the bottom surface 303. For example, the extended line maycross the bottom surface at a right angle. A length of the contactinclining portion CT may be decreased as it goes far from the concaveportion A. A top surface of the contact inclining portion CT may becoplanar with the top surface of the convex portion B. An angle betweenthe contact inclining portion CT and the bottom portion BP may be 90°.

Conductive plugs may be disposed on the contact inclining portions CT ofthe word lines WL1-WL4, respectively. The conductive plugs may be wordline contact plugs CP. The word lines WL1-WL4 may be electricallyconnected with the word line contact plugs CP, respectively. The wordline contact plugs may penetrate a first interlayer insulating layer360. First conductive lines ML1 may be disposed on the word line contactplugs CP and the first interlayer insulating layer 360. The firstconductive line ML1 may extend in a first direction. The first directionmay be the III-III′ direction. The word line contact plugs CP may beelectrically connected with the first conductive lines ML1. The firstconductive lines ML1 may extend in a first direction. The firstconductive lines ML1 may be electrically connected with the word linesWL1-WL4 through the word line contact plugs CP. Unlike this, the firstconductive lines ML1 may be directly connected with the word linesWL1-WL4. A second interlayer insulating layer 370 covering the firstconductive lines ML1 may be disposed. The first and second interlayerinsulating layers 360 and 370 may include the same material.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe ground select line GSL. The conductive plug may be a ground selectcontact plug GCP. The ground select line GSL may be electricallyconnected with the ground select contact plug GCP. A second conductiveline ML2 may be disposed on the ground select contact plug GCP and thefirst interlayer insulating layer 360. The ground select contact plugGCP may be electrically connected with the second conductive line ML2.The second conductive line ML2 may extend in a first direction. Thesecond conductive line ML2 may be electrically connected with the groundselect line GSL through the ground select contact plug GCP. Unlike this,the second conductive line ML2 may be directly connected with the groundselect line GSL. The second interlayer insulating layer 370 may coverthe second conductive line ML2.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe string select line SSL. The conductive plug may be a string selectcontact plug SCP. The string select line SSL may be electricallyconnected with the string select contact plug SCP. The string selectcontact plug SCP may penetrate the first interlayer insulating layer 360and the second interlayer insulating layer 370. A third conductive lineML3 may be disposed on the string select contact plug SCP and the secondinterlayer insulating layer 370. The string select contact plug SCP maybe electrically connected with the third conductive line ML3. The thirdconductive line ML3 may extend in the first direction.

An active memory string structure extending upward from the bottomsurface 303 of the concave portion A may be disposed. The active memorystring structure may extend perpendicular to the substrate 301. Theactive memory string structure may penetrate the conductive patternsGSL, WL1-WL4, SSL so that one end of the active memory string structuremay be electrically connected with the common source region 302. A drainregion D may be disposed at the other end of the active memory string.The drain region D may be a region doped with a high concentration ofdopant. The active memory string structure may include a singlecrystalline semiconductor.

A bit line contact plug BLCP may be disposed on the drain region D ofthe active memory string structure. The bit line contact plug BLCP maybe electrically connected with the drain region D and penetrate thefirst interlayer insulating layer 360. A bit line BL may be disposed onthe bit line contact plug BLCP. The bit line BL may be connected withthe drain region D of the active memory string structure through the bitline contact plug BLCP. Unlike this, the bit line BL may be directlyconnected with the drain region D. The bit line BL may extend in thesecond direction crossing the first direction. The bit line BL may crossthe third conductive line ML3.

An information storage layer 332 may be disposed between the sidewall ofthe active memory string structure and the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL. The information storage layer 332 may be provided in acylindrical type penetrating the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL.The information storage layer 332 may be provided to surround the activememory string structure. The information storage layer 332 may bedisposed between the sidewall of the active memory string structure andthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers310-316.

The information storage layer 332 according to the third embodiment ofthe inventive concept may be the information storage layer describedwith reference to FIG. 3.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 301 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A gate insulating layer354 may be disposed on the top surface of the convex portion B. The gateinsulating layer 354 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 354 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe top surface of the convex portion β. A gate electrode 356 may bedisposed on the gate insulating layer 354. The gate electrode 356 mayinclude one selected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon,metal and metal silicide. A spacer 358 may be disposed on both sidewallsof the gate electrode 356. Source and drain regions 353 may be disposedin the convex portion B at both sides of the gate electrode 356. Thesource and drain regions 353 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant. A peripheral circuit contact plug PCPpenetrating the first interlayer insulating layer 360 may be disposed onthe gate electrode 356 and the source and drain regions 353. A fourthconductive line ML4 may be disposed on the peripheral circuit contactplug PCP. A second interlayer insulating layer 370 may be disposed onthe fourth conductive line ML4.

A modified example of the third embodiment of the inventive concept willnow be described. FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along line III-III′of FIG. 7, for explaining a modified example of the third embodiment ofthe inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8B, a substrate 300 is provided. A commonsource region 302 may be disposed in the substrate 300. The substrate300 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 303, and a first sidewall 306. The substrate 300 mayinclude a convex portion B extending from the first sidewall 306. A topsurface of the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottomsurface 303 of the concave portion A. The convex portion B may bedefined by an insulating layer 304 on the substrate 300.

The substrate 300 may include a cell region cc and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. In theperipheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.

The cell region α of the substrate 300 will now be described.

In the cell region α of the substrate 300, the memory cell describedwith reference to FIG. 8A may be disposed.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 300 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A semiconductor layer 352may be disposed on a top surface of the insulating layer 304. Thesemiconductor layer 352 may include semiconductor materials includingpolysilicon, crystalline silicon and single crystalline silicon. A gateinsulating layer 354 may be disposed on the semiconductor layer 352. Thegate insulating layer 354 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 354 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe semiconductor layer 352. A gate electrode 356 may be disposed on thegate insulating layer 354. The gate electrode 356 may include oneselected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon, metal and metalsilicide. A spacer 358 may be disposed on both sidewalls of the gateelectrode 356. Source and drain regions 353 may be disposed in thesemiconductor layer 352 at both sides of the gate electrode 356. Thesource and drain regions 353 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant.

A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the first interlayerinsulating layer 360 may be disposed on the gate electrode 356 and thesource and drain regions 353. A fourth conductive line ML4 may bedisposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A second interlayerinsulating layer 370 may be disposed on the fourth conductive line ML4.

A semiconductor device according to another modified example of thethird embodiment of the inventive concept will now be described. FIG. 8Cis a sectional view taken along line III-III′ of FIG. 7, for showinganother modified example of the third embodiment of the inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8C, a substrate 301 is provided. A commonsource region 302 may be disposed in the substrate 301. The substrate301 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 303, and a first sidewall 306. The first sidewall 306 maybe inclined to the bottom surface 303 of the concave portion A. Forexample, the first sidewall 306 may have an angle, which is 50 to 90degrees with respect to the bottom surface 303. The substrate 301 mayinclude a convex portion B extending from the first sidewall 306. A topsurface of the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottomsurface 303 of the concave portion A. The concave portion A and theconvex portion B of the substrate 301 may be defined through an etchingprocess. Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 8B, theconvex portion B may be defined by the insulating layer 304 on thesubstrate 300.

The substrate 301 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. In theperipheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.

The cell region α of the substrate 301 will now be described.

In the concave portion A of the cell region α, the memory cell describedwith reference to FIG. 8A may be disposed. A contact inclining portionsCT of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may have an inclinedslope with respect to the bottom surface 303. An angle between thecontact inclining portions CT of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL and the bottom surface 303 may be equal to the angle between thefirst sidewall 306 and the bottom surface 303.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 301 will now bedescribed.

In the peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 301, the peripheralcircuit described with reference to FIG. 8A may be disposed.Alternatively, as aforementioned, in the case where the substrate is thesubstrate described with reference to FIG. 8B, a semiconductor layer 352may be added.

A semiconductor device according to a fourth embodiment of the inventiveconcept will now be described. FIG. 9 is a plan view for explaining asemiconductor device according to a fourth embodiment of the inventiveconcept, and FIG. 10A is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV′ ofFIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10A, a substrate 401 is provided. The substrate401 may be a semiconductor-based substrate. The substrate 401 mayinclude a well. The well may include a first conductive type dopant. Acommon source region 402 may be disposed in the substrate 401. Thecommon source region 402 may be disposed in a plate form within a cellregion of the substrate 401. The common source region 402 may include ahigh concentration of dopant. The dopant included in the common sourceregion 402 may have a second conductive type, which is different fromthe conductive type of the dopant included in the well. For example, inthe case where the well includes a p-type dopant, the common sourceregion 402 may include a high concentration of n-type dopant.

The substrate 401 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion Amay include a bottom surface 403, and a first sidewall 406. Thesubstrate 401 may include a convex portion B extended from the firstsidewall 406. A top surface of the convex portion B may be in parallelwith the bottom surface of the concave portion A. The concave portion Aand the convex portion B may be formed by etching a portion of asemiconductor substrate corresponding to the concave portion A andleaving a portion of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to theconvex portion B. In this case, the substrate 401 may be one bodysubstrate.

The substrate 401 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. The cellregion α may include the concave portion A and the convex portion B. Inthe peripheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.The peripheral circuit region β may include the convex portion B.

The cell region α of the substrate 401 will now be described.

Conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL spaced apart from one another maybe disposed on the concave portion A of the cell region α of thesubstrate 401. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include aground select line GSL, word lines WL1-WL4, and a string select lineSSL, which are sequentially stacked on the concave portion A of thesubstrate 401. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may be spacedapart from one another with inter-gate insulating layers 410-414in-between. For example, the ground select line GSL, the firstinter-gate insulating layer 410, the first word line WL1, the secondinter-gate insulating layer 411, the second word line WL2, the thirdinter-gate insulating layer 412, the third word line WL3, the fourthinter-gate insulating layer 413, the fourth word line WL4, the fifthinter-gate insulating layer 414 and the string select line SSL may besequentially stacked.

A string select insulating layer 415 may be disposed on the stringselect line SSL. The insulating layers 410-414 may include bottomportions above the bottom surface 403 of the concave portion A, andsidewall portions extended over the first sidewall 406 from the bottomportions thereof. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may have aline form extending in a first direction. The first direction may be adirection of line IV-IV′.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 403 of the concave portion A. Lengthsof the bottom portions BP may be shortened as it goes far from theconcave portion A of the substrate 401. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the bottom surface 403. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the top surface of the convex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over the first sidewall 406 from one ends of thebottom portions BP. An extended line of the contact inclining portion CTmay cross the bottom surface 403. For example, the extended line maycross the bottom surface at a right angle. A length of the contactinclining portion CT may be decreased as it goes far from the concaveportion A. A top surface of the contact inclining portion CT may becoplanar with the top surface of the convex portion B. An angle betweenthe contact inclining portion CT and the bottom portion BP may be 90°.

Conductive plugs may be disposed on the contact inclining portions CT ofthe word lines WL1-WL4, respectively. The conductive plugs may be wordline contact plugs CP. The word lines WL1-WL4 may be electricallyconnected with the word line contact plugs CP, respectively. The wordline contact plugs CP may penetrate a first interlayer insulating layer480. First conductive lines ML1 may be disposed on the word line contactplugs CP and the first interlayer insulating layer 480. The word linecontact plugs CP may be electrically connected with the first conductivelines ML1. The first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a seconddirection crossing the first direction. The first conductive lines ML1may be electrically connected with the word lines WL1-WL4 through theword line contact plugs CP. Unlike this, the first conductive lines ML1may be directly connected with the word lines WL1-WL4. A secondinterlayer insulating layer 490 covering the first conductive lines ML1may be disposed. The first and second interlayer insulating layers 480and 490 may include the same material.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe ground select line GSL. The conductive plug may be a ground selectcontact plug GCP. The ground select line GSL may be electricallyconnected with the ground select contact plug GCP. The ground selectcontact plug GCP may penetrate the first interlayer insulating layer480. A second conductive line ML2 may be disposed on the ground selectcontact plug GCP and the first interlayer insulating layer 480. Theground select contact plug GCP may be electrically connected with thesecond conductive line ML2. The second conductive line ML2 may extend inthe second direction. The second conductive line ML2 may be electricallyconnected with the ground select line GSL through the ground selectcontact plug GCP. Unlike this, the second conductive line ML2 may bedirectly connected with the ground select line GSL. The secondinterlayer insulating layer 490 may cover the second conductive lineML2.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe string select line SSL. The conductive plug may be a string selectcontact plug SCP. The string select line SSL may be electricallyconnected with the string select contact plug SCP. The string selectcontact plug SCP may penetrate the first interlayer insulating layer 480and the second interlayer insulating layer 490. A third conductive lineML3 may be disposed on the string select contact plug SCP and the secondinterlayer insulating layer 490. The string select contact plug SCP maybe electrically connected with the third conductive line ML3. The thirdconductive line ML3 may extend in the first direction.

An active memory string structure extending upward from the bottomsurface 403 of the concave portion A of the substrate 401 may bedisposed. The active memory string structure may extend perpendicular tothe substrate 401. The active memory string structure may penetrate theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. Unlike this, as described withreference to FIG. 6B, the active memory string structure may face thesidewalls of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. One end of theactive memory string structure may be electrically connected with thecommon source region 402. A drain region 423 may be disposed at theother end of the active memory string. The drain region 423 may be aregion doped with a high concentration of dopant. The active memorystring structure may include a single crystalline semiconductor.

A bit line contact plug BLCP may be disposed on the drain region 423 ofthe active memory string structure. The bit line contact plug BLCP maybe electrically connected with the drain region D and penetrate thefirst interlayer insulating layer 480. A bit line BL may be disposed onthe bit line contact plug BLCP. The bit line BL may be connected withthe drain region 423 of the active memory string structure through thebit line contact plug BLCP. Unlike this, the bit line BL may be directlyconnected with the drain region 423. The bit line BL may extend in thesecond direction. The bit line BL may cross the string select line SSL.

An information storage layer 440 may be disposed between the sidewall ofthe active memory string structure and the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL. The information storage layer 440 may be disposed betweenthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers410-415.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 401 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region 3. A gate insulating layer474 may be disposed on the top surface of the convex portion B. The gateinsulating layer 474 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 474 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe substrate 401. A gate electrode 476 may be disposed on the gateinsulating layer 474. The gate electrode 476 may include one selectedfrom the group consisting of doped polysilicon, metal and metalsilicide. A gate spacer 478 may be disposed on both sidewalls of thegate electrode 476. Source and drain regions 473 may be disposed in theconvex portion B at both sides of the gate electrode 476. The source anddrain regions 473 may be regions doped with a high concentration ofdopant. A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the firstinterlayer insulating layer 480 may be disposed on the gate electrode476 and the source and drain regions 473. A fourth conductive line ML4may be disposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A secondinterlayer insulating layer 490 may be disposed on the fourth conductiveline ML4.

A modified example of the fourth embodiment of the inventive conceptwill now be described. FIG. 10B is a sectional view taken along lineIV-IV′ of FIG. 9, for explaining a modified example of the fourthembodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10B, a substrate 400 is provided. A commonsource region 402 may be disposed in the substrate 400. The substrate400 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 403, and a first sidewall 406. The substrate 400 mayinclude a convex portion B extending from the first sidewall 406. A topsurface of the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottomsurface 403 of the concave portion A. The convex portion B may bedefined by an insulating layer 404 on the substrate 400.

The substrate 400 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. In theperipheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.

The cell region α of the substrate 400 will now be described.

In the concave portion A of the cell region α, the memory cell describedwith reference to FIG. 10A may be disposed.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 400 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A semiconductor layer 472may be disposed on a top surface of the insulating layer 404. Thesemiconductor layer 472 may include semiconductor materials includingpolysilicon, crystalline silicon and single crystalline silicon. A gateinsulating layer 474 may be disposed on the semiconductor layer 472. Thegate insulating layer 474 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 474 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe semiconductor layer 472. A gate electrode 476 may be disposed on thegate insulating layer 474. The gate electrode 476 may include at leastone selected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon, metal andmetal silicide. A spacer 478 may be disposed on both sidewalls of thegate electrode 476. Source and drain regions 473 may be disposed in thesemiconductor layer 472 at both sides of the gate electrode 476. Thesource and drain regions 473 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant.

A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the first interlayerinsulating layer 480 may be disposed on the gate electrode 476 and thesource and drain regions 473. A fourth conductive line ML4 may bedisposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A second interlayerinsulating layer 490 may be disposed on the fourth conductive line ML4.

A semiconductor device according to another modified example of thefourth embodiment of the inventive concept will now be described. FIG.10C is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV′ of FIG. 9, for showinganother modified example of the fourth embodiment of the inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10C, a substrate 401 is provided. A commonsource region 402 may be disposed in the substrate 401. The substrate401 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 403, and a first sidewall 406. The first sidewall 406 maybe inclined to the bottom surface 403 of the concave portion A. Forexample, the first sidewall 406 may have an angle, which is 50 to 90degrees with respect to the bottom surface 403. The substrate 401 mayinclude a convex portion B extending from the first sidewall 406. A topsurface of the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottomsurface 403 of the concave portion A. The concave portion A and theconvex portion B of the substrate 401 may be defined through an etchingprocess. Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 10B, theconvex portion B may be defined by the insulating layer 404 on thesubstrate 400.

The substrate 401 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. Theperipheral circuit region β may include a peripheral circuit.

The cell region α of the substrate 401 will now be described.

In the concave portion A of the cell region α, the memory cell describedwith reference to FIG. 10A may be disposed. A contact inclining portionsCT of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may have an inclinedslope with respect to the bottom surface 403. An angle between thecontact inclining portions CT of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL and the bottom surface 403 may be equal to the angle between thefirst sidewall 406 and the bottom surface 403.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 401 will now bedescribed.

In the peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 401, the peripheralcircuit described with reference to FIG. 10A may be disposed.Alternatively, as aforementioned, in the case where the substrate is thesubstrate described with reference to FIG. 10B, a semiconductor layer472 may be added.

A semiconductor device according to a fifth embodiment of the inventiveconcept will now be described. FIG. 11A through FIG. 11B is a plan viewfor explaining a semiconductor device according to a fifth embodiment ofthe inventive concept, and FIG. 12A is a sectional view taken along lineV-V′ of FIG. 11A through FIG. 11B.

Referring to FIGS. 11A through 11B and 12A, a substrate 501 is provided.The substrate 501 may be a semiconductor-based substrate. The substrate501 may include a well. The well may include a first conductive typedopant. A common source region 502 may be disposed in the substrate 501.The common source region 502 may be disposed in a plate form within acell region of the substrate 501. The common source region 502 mayinclude a high concentration of dopant. The dopant included in thecommon source region 502 may have a second conductive type, which isdifferent from the conductive type of the dopant included in the well.For example, in the case where the well includes a p-type dopant, thecommon source region 502 may include a high concentration of n-typedopant.

The substrate 501 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion Amay include a bottom surface 503, and first and second sidewalls 505 and506 facing each other. The substrate 501 may include a convex portion Bextended from the first and second sidewalls 505 and 506. A top surfaceof the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface ofthe concave portion A. The concave portion A and the convex portion Bmay be formed by etching a portion of a semiconductor substratecorresponding to the concave portion A and leaving a portion of thesemiconductor substrate corresponding to the convex portion B. In thiscase, the substrate 501 may be one body substrate.

The substrate 501 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. The cellregion α may include the concave portion A and the convex portion B. Inthe peripheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.The peripheral circuit region β may include the convex portion B.

The cell region α of the substrate 501 will now be described.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 505 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 506. A cell array region CAR may bedisposed between the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2. That is, the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2 may be spaced apart from each other with the cell arrayregion CAR in-between.

Conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL spaced apart from one another maybe disposed on the substrate 501. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL may include a ground select line GSL, word lines WL1-WL4, and astring select line SSL, which are sequentially stacked on the concaveportion A of the substrate 501. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL may be spaced apart from one another with inter-gate insulatinglayers 511-515 in-between. For example, the ground select line GSL, thefirst inter-gate insulating layer 511, the first word line WL1, thesecond inter-gate insulating layer 512, the second word line WL2, thethird inter-gate insulating layer 513, the third word line WL3, thefourth inter-gate insulating layer 514, the fourth word line WL4, thefifth inter-gate insulating layer 515 and the string select line SSL maybe sequentially stacked. The insulating layers 511-515 may includebottom portions above the bottom surface 503 of the concave portion A ofthe substrate 501, and sidewall portions extended over the firstsidewall 505 and the second sidewall 506 from the bottom portionsthereof.

A ground select insulating layer 510 may be disposed between the bottomsurface 503 of the concave portion A of the substrate 501, the first andsecond sidewalls 505, 506, and the ground select line GSL. A stringselect insulating layer 516 may be disposed on the string select lineSSL. The word lines WL1-WL4 may have a plate form parallel to theconcave portion A.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 503 of the concave portion A. Lengthsof the bottom portions BP may be shortened as it goes far from theconcave portion A of the substrate 501. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the bottom surface 503. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the top surface of the convex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over one of the first sidewall 505 and the secondsidewall 506 from one ends of the bottom portions BP. A contact regionwhere the contact inclining portion of any one of the conductivepatterns is disposed may be different from a contact region where thecontact inclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to theany one of the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where thecontact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL is disposedin the first contact region CR1, the contact inclining portion CT of thefirst word line WL1 adjacent to the ground select line GSL may bedisposed in the second contact region CR2. An extended line of thecontact inclining portion CT may cross the bottom surface 503. Theextended line may cross the bottom surface 503 at a right angle. Alength of the contact inclining portion CT may be decreased as it goesfar from the concave portion A. A top surface of the contact incliningportion CT may be coplanar with the top surface of the convex portion B.An angle between the contact inclining portion CT and the bottom portionBP may be 90°.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include dummy incliningportions DCT extended over the other one of the first sidewall 505 andthe second sidewall 506 from the other ends of the bottom portions BPabove the bottom surface 503. A contact region where the dummy incliningportion of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL isdisposed may be different from a contact region where the dummyinclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any oneof the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where the dummyinclining portion DCT of the string select line SSL is disposed in thefirst contact region CR1, the dummy inclining portion DCT of the fourthword line WL4 adjacent to the string select line SSL may be disposed inthe second contact region CR2. Each of the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL may include one contact inclining portion CT and one dummyinclining portion DCT. In one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL, a length of the dummy inclining portion DCT may be shorter thanthat of the contact inclining portion CT. The contact inclining portionCT may be disposed between the dummy inclining portions DCT adjacent toeach other. The contact inclining portions CT adjacent to one of thedummy inclining portions DCT may be spaced apart from each other by thesidewalls of the insulating layers interposed therebetween.

A dummy insulating layer pattern 524 may be disposed on the dummyinclining portion DCT. A top surface of the dummy insulating layerpattern 524 may be coplanar with the top surface of the convex portionB. The top surface of the dummy insulating layer pattern 524 may becoplanar with a top surface of the string select insulating layer 516.Sidewalls of the dummy insulating layer pattern 524 may be coplanar withsidewalls of the dummy inclining portion DCT. The dummy insulating layerpattern 524 may include the same material as the insulating layers510-516.

Conductive plugs may be disposed on the contact inclining portions CT ofthe word lines WL1-WL4, respectively. The conductive plugs may be wordline contact plugs CP. The word lines WL1-WL4 may be electricallyconnected with the word line contact plugs CP, respectively. Widths ofthe word line contact plugs CP may be wider than those of the topsurfaces of the contact inclining portions CT of the word lines WL1-WL4.The widths of the word line contact plugs CP may be wider than widthsbetween the dummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to the contactinclining portions of the word lines WL1-WL4. The word line contactplugs may penetrate a first interlayer insulating layer 560. Firstconductive lines ML1 may be disposed on the word line contact plugs CPand the first interlayer insulating layer 560. The word line contactplugs CP may be electrically connected with the first conductive linesML1. Some of the first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a firstdirection. Another some of the first conductive lines ML1 may extend ina second direction opposite to the first direction. For example, thefirst conductive lines ML1 connected with the word lines WL2, WL4positioned at odd-numbered layers of the conductive patterns above thesubstrate 101 may extend in the first direction, and the firstconductive lines ML1 connected with the word lines WL1, WL3 positionedat even-numbered layers of the conductive patterns above the substrate101 may extend in the second direction. The first direction may be adirection of line V′-V. The first conductive lines ML1 may beelectrically connected with the word lines WL1-WL4 through the word linecontact plugs CP. Unlike this, the first conductive lines ML1 may bedirectly connected with the word lines WL1-WL4. A second interlayerinsulating layer 570 covering the first conductive lines ML1 may bedisposed. The first and second interlayer insulating layers 560 and 570may include the same material.

The first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a second direction crossingthe first direction. The first conductive lines ML1 may be electricallyconnected with the word lines WL1-WL4 through the word line contactplugs CP. Unlike this, the first conductive lines ML1 may be directlyconnected with the word lines WL1-WL4. A second interlayer insulatinglayer 570 covering the first conductive lines ML1 may be disposed. Thefirst and second interlayer insulating layers 560 and 570 may includethe same material.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe ground select line GSL. The conductive plug may be a ground selectcontact plug GCP. The ground select line GSL may be electricallyconnected with the ground select contact plug GCP. A width of the groundselect contact plug GCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL. Theground select contact plug GCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 560. A second conductive line ML2 may be disposed onthe ground select contact plug GCP and the first interlayer insulatinglayer 560. The ground select contact plug GCP may be electricallyconnected with the second conductive line ML2. The second conductiveline ML2 may extend in the first direction. The second conductive lineML2 may be electrically connected with the ground select line GSLthrough the ground select contact plug GCP. Unlike this, the secondconductive line ML2 may be directly connected with the ground selectline GSL. The second interlayer insulating layer 570 may cover thesecond conductive line ML2.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe string select line SSL. The conductive plug may be a string selectcontact plug SCP. The string select line SSL may be electricallyconnected with the string select contact plug SCP. A width of the stringselect contact plug SCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the string select line SSL. Thestring select contact plug SCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 560 and the second interlayer insulating layer 570. Athird conductive line ML3 may be disposed on the string select contactplug SCP and the second interlayer insulating layer 570. The stringselect contact plug SCP may be electrically connected with the thirdconductive line ML3. The third conductive line ML3 may extend in thesecond direction. The second interlayer insulating layer 570 may coverthe third conductive line ML3. Referring to the FIG. 10B, a plurality ofthe string select line SSL may dispose in the concave portion. And thethird conductive lines ML3 of the string select lines SSL adjacent toeach other may extend different direction.

The conductive lines ML1, ML2, ML3 may be extended separated in thefirst direction and the second direction sides with the cell arrayregion CAR in-between. For example, the conductive lines ML2, ML1connected with the conductive patterns GSL, WL2, WL4 of which thecontact inclining portions CT are disposed in the first contact regionmay extend in the first direction, and the conductive lines ML1, ML3connected with the conductive patterns WL1, WL3, SSL of which thecontact inclining portions CT are disposed in the second contact regionmay extend in the second direction.

An active memory string structure extending upward from the bottomsurface 503 of the concave portion A may be disposed. The active memorystring structure may extend perpendicular to the substrate 501. Theactive memory string structure may penetrate the conductive patternsGSL, WL1-WL4, SSL so that one end of the active memory string structuremay be electrically connected with the common source region 502. A drainregion D may be disposed at the other end of the active memory string.The drain region D may be a region doped with a high concentration ofdopant. The active memory string structure may include a singlecrystalline semiconductor.

A bit line contact plug BLCP may be disposed on the drain region D ofthe active memory string structure. The bit line contact plug BLCP maybe electrically connected with the drain region D and penetrate thefirst interlayer insulating layer 560. A bit line BL may be disposed onthe bit line contact plug BLCP. The bit line BL may be connected withthe drain region D of the active memory string structure through the bitline contact plug BLCP. Unlike this, the bit line BL may be directlyconnected with the drain region D. The bit line BL may extend in thefirst direction, and a third direction crossing the second direction.The third direction may cross the first and second directions at a rightangle. The bit line BL may cross the string select line SSL.

An information storage layer 532 may be disposed between the sidewall ofthe active memory string structure and the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL. The information storage layer 532 may be provided in acylindrical type penetrating the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL.The information storage layer 532 may be provided to surround the activememory string structure. The information storage layer 532 may bedisposed between the sidewall of the active memory string structure andthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers510-516.

The information storage layer 532 according to the fifth embodiment ofthe inventive concept may be the information storage layer describedwith reference to FIG. 3.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 501 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A gate insulating layer554 may be disposed on the top surface of the convex portion B. The gateinsulating layer 554 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 554 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe top surface of the convex portion B. A gate electrode 556 may bedisposed on the gate insulating layer 554. The gate electrode 556 mayinclude one selected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon,metal and metal silicide. A spacer 558 may be disposed on both sidewallsof the gate electrode 556. Source and drain regions 553 may be disposedin the convex portion B at both sides of the gate electrode 556. Thesource and drain regions 553 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant.

A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the first interlayerinsulating layer 560 may be disposed on the gate electrode 556 and thesource and drain regions 553. A fourth conductive line ML4 may bedisposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A second interlayerinsulating layer 570 may be disposed on the fourth conductive line ML4.

A modified example of the fifth embodiment of the inventive concept willnow be described. FIG. 12B is a sectional view taken along line V-V′ ofFIG. 11A through FIG. 11B, for explaining a modified example of thefifth embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 11A through 11B and 12B, a substrate 500 is provided.A common source region 502 may be disposed in the substrate 500. Thesubstrate 500 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A mayinclude a bottom surface 503, and first and second sidewalls 505 and 506facing each other. The substrate 500 may include a convex portion Bextending from the first and second sidewalls 505 and 506. A top surfaceof the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface 503of the concave portion A. The convex portion B may be defined by aninsulating layer 504 disposed on the substrate 500.

The substrate 500 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion 3. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. In theperipheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.

The cell region α of the substrate 500 will now be described.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 505 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 506. The memory cell explained withreference to FIG. 12A may be disposed in the cell region α of thesubstrate 500.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 500 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A semiconductor layer 552may be disposed on a top surface of the insulating layer 504. Thesemiconductor layer 552 may be semiconductor materials includingpolysilicon, crystalline silicon and single crystalline silicon. A gateinsulating layer 554 may be disposed on the semiconductor layer 552. Thegate insulating layer 554 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 554 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe semiconductor layer 552. A gate electrode 556 may be disposed on thegate insulating layer 554. The gate electrode 556 may include oneselected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon, metal and metalsilicide. A spacer 558 may be disposed on both sidewalls of the gateelectrode 556. Source and drain regions 553 may be disposed in thesemiconductor layer 552 at both sides of the gate electrode 556. Thesource and drain regions 553 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant.

A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the first interlayerinsulating layer 560 may be disposed on the gate electrode 556 and thesource and drain regions 553. A fourth conductive line ML4 may bedisposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A second interlayerinsulating layer 570 may be disposed on the fourth conductive line ML4.

A semiconductor device according to another modified example of thefifth embodiment of the inventive concept will now be described. FIG.12C is a sectional view taken along line V-V′ of FIG. 11A through 11B,for showing another modified example of the fifth embodiment of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 11A through 11B and 12C, a substrate 501 is provided.A common source region 502 may be disposed in the substrate 501. Thesubstrate 501 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A mayinclude a bottom surface 503, and first and second sidewalls 505 and 506facing each other. Any one of the first and second sidewalls 505 and 506may be inclined to the bottom surface 503 of the concave portion A. Forexample, the first sidewall 505 and the second sidewall 506 may have anangle, which is 50 to 90 degrees with respect to the bottom surface 503.A slope of the first sidewall 505 with respect to the bottom surface 503may be equal to that of the second sidewall 506 with respect to thebottom surface 503. Alternatively, the slope of the first sidewall 505with respect to the bottom surface 503 may be different from that of thesecond sidewall 506 with respect to the bottom surface 503. Thesubstrate 501 may include a convex portion B extending from the firstand second sidewalls 505 and 506. A top surface of the convex portion Bmay be in parallel with the bottom surface 503 of the concave portion A.The concave portion A and the convex portion B of the substrate 501 maybe defined through an etching process. Alternatively, as described withreference to FIG. 12B, the convex portion B may be defined by theinsulating layer 504 on the substrate 501.

The substrate 501 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. Theperipheral circuit region β may include a peripheral circuit.

The cell region α of the substrate 501 will now be described.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 505 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 506. The memory cell explained withreference to FIG. 12A may be disposed in the cell region α of thesubstrate 501. A contact inclining portion CT and a dummy incliningportion DCT of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL mayhave an inclined slope with respect to a bottom portion BP.

An angle between the sidewall adjacent to the contact region where thecontact inclining portion CT is disposed, and the bottom surface 503 maybe equal to an angle between the contact inclining portion CT and thebottom portion BP. For example, in the case of the first word line WL1,a slope of the contact inclining portion CT with respect to the bottomportion BP may be equal to a slope of the second sidewall 506 withrespect to the bottom surface 503. When the slopes of the first sidewall505 and the second sidewall 506 with respect to the bottom surface 503are different from each other, the slope of the contact incliningportion with respect to the bottom portion BP in any one conductivepattern may be different from the slope of the dummy inclining portionDCT with respect to the bottom portion BP.

The peripheral circuit region 3 of the substrate 501 will now bedescribed.

In the peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 501, the peripheralcircuit described with reference to FIG. 12A may be disposed.Alternatively, as aforementioned, in the case where the substrate is thesubstrate described with reference to FIG. 12B, a semiconductor layer552 may be added.

A method for forming a semiconductor device according to the fifthembodiment will now be described. FIGS. 13A to 13H are cross-sectionalviews for explaining a method for forming a semiconductor deviceaccording to the fifth embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 13A, a substrate 501 is provided. The substrate 501may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 503, and first and second sidewalls 505 and 506 facingeach other. The substrate 501 may include a convex portion B extendedfrom the first and second sidewalls 505 and 506. A top surface of theconvex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface of theconcave portion A. A forming of the concave portion A and the convexportion B of the substrate 501 may include etching a portion of asubstrate corresponding to the concave portion A and leaving a portionof the substrate corresponding to the convex portion B.

The substrate 501 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. The cellregion α may include the concave portion A and the convex portion B. Theperipheral circuit region β may include a peripheral circuit. Theperipheral circuit region β may include the convex portion B.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 505 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 506. A cell array region CAR may bedisposed between the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2. That is, the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2 may be spaced apart from each other with the cell arrayregion CAR in-between.

The substrate 501 may be a single crystalline semiconductor substrate(e.g., p-type silicon wafer). The substrate 501 may include a well. Thewell may be formed by introducing a dopant into the substrate 501. Thedopant may be introduced by a doping process including an ionimplantation or a plasma implantation. A common source region 502 may beprovided in an upper portion of the substrate 501. The common sourceregion 502 may be formed by doping a dopant into the well. The commonsource region 502 may include a dopant having a conductive type, whichis different from the conductive type of the well. For example, the wellmay include a p-type dopant and the common source region 502 may includean n-type dopant.

Referring to FIG. 13B, conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL andinsulating layers 510-516 may be alternatingly formed on the concaveportion A of the substrate 501. For example, the ground selectinsulating layer 510, the ground select line GSL, the first inter-gateinsulating layer 511, the first word line WL1, the second inter-gateinsulating layer 512, the second word line WL2, the third inter-gateinsulating layer 513, the third word line WL3, the fourth inter-gateinsulating layer 514, the fourth word line WL4, the fifth inter-gateinsulating layer 515, the string select line SSL and the string selectinsulating layer 516 may be sequentially deposited. The conductivepatterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layer 510-516 may be alsoformed on the top surface of the convex portion B. The conductivepatterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include metal or polycrystallinesemiconductor material. The insulating layers 510-516 may include asilicon oxide layer.

A planarizing process may be performed by using the top surface of theconvex portion B as an etch stop layer. The planarizing process may beperformed by using any of an etch-back or a chemical mechanicalpolishing (CMP). By the planarizing process, the conductive patternsGSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers 510-516 formed on the convexportion B may be removed.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 503 of the concave portion A. Theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over one of the first sidewall 505 and the secondsidewall 506 from one ends of the bottom portions BP. A contact regionwhere the contact inclining portion of any one of the conductivepatterns is disposed may be different from a contact region where thecontact inclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to theany one of the conductive patterns. An exposed top surface of thecontact inclining portion CT may be coplanar with the top surface of theconvex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include dummy incliningportions DCT extended over the other one of the first sidewall 505 andthe second sidewall 506 from the other ends of the bottom portions BPabove the bottom surface 503. A contact region where the dummy incliningportion of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL isdisposed may be different from a contact region where the dummyinclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any oneof the conductive patterns. Each of the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL may include one contact inclining portion CT and one dummyinclining portion DCT.

A mask pattern 520 covering the exposed top surface of the contactinclining portions is covered. The mask pattern 520 exposes the dummyinclining portions DCT.

The covering of the mask pattern 520 may include forming a mask layer onthe substrate 501, and patterning the mask layer. The mask pattern 520may include a material having an etch selectivity with respect to theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers 510-516.For example, the mask pattern 520 may include a silicon nitride layer ora photoresist pattern.

Referring to FIG. 13C, the dummy inclining portions DCT may be partiallyetched by using the mask pattern 520 as an etch mask. As a result, dummyrecess portions 522 may be formed. Lengths of the dummy incliningportions DCT may be shorter than lengths of the contact incliningportions CT. Due to the dummy recess portions 522, sidewalls of theinsulating layers 510-516 may be partially exposed. The etching of thedummy inclining portions DCT may be performed by using an etch recipe inwhich the etch rate of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL ishigher than that of the mask pattern 520 and the insulating layers510-516. Thereafter, the mask pattern 520 may be removed.

The string select line SSL may be patterned in a line form extending ina first direction. The first direction may be a direction of line V-V′.

Referring to FIG. 13D, a dummy insulating layer pattern 524 filling thedummy recess portions 522 may be formed. The forming of the dummyinsulating layer pattern 524 may include forming a dummy insulatinglayer on the substrate, and performing a planarizing process by usingthe top surface of the convex portion B or a top surface of the stringselect insulating layer 516 as an etch stop layer. A top surface of thedummy insulating layer pattern 524 may be coplanar with the top surfaceof the convex portion B. The top surface of the dummy insulating layerpattern 524 may be coplanar with the top surface of the string selectinsulating layer 516. Sidewalls of the dummy insulating layer pattern524 may be coplanar with sidewalls of the insulating layers 510-516.

Active openings 530 exposing the common source region 502 positioned atthe bottom surface 503 of the concave portion may be formed by etchingthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers510-516. The active memory string openings 530 may expose sidewalls ofthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and sidewalls of theinsulating layers 510-516. The etching of the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL and the insulating layers 510-516 may be performed by usingan anisotropic etching.

Referring to FIG. 13E, an information storage layer 532 covering thesidewalls of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and the sidewallsof the insulating layers 510-516 exposed by the active memory stringopenings 530 may be formed. Layers containing the information storagelayer 532 may cover the common source region 502 exposed by the activememory string openings 530. Layers containing the information storagelayer 532 may be formed on the top surface of the convex portion B, thetop surface of the string select insulating layer 516, the sidewalls ofthe insulating layers 510-516, the top surface of the dummy insulatinglayer pattern 524, and the top surface of the contact inclining portionsCT.

Again referring to FIG. 3, a method of forming the information storagelayer 532 will be described. The forming of the information storagelayer 532 may include forming a blocking layer 134 in the active memorystring openings 530, forming a charge storage layer 135 covering theblocking layer 134, and forming a tunnel insulating layer 136 coveringthe charge storage layer 135. The shape of an active may be pillar ortubular wherein the core of the opening is filled with a insulatingmaterial.

Again referring to FIG. 13E, a spacer 534 may be formed in the activememory string openings 530. The spacer 534 may partially cover theinformation storage layer 532 formed on sidewalls of the active memorystring openings 530 and the information storage layer 532 formed on thebottom surface of the active memory string openings 530. The forming ofthe spacer 534 may include forming a spacer layer on the substrate, andanisotropically etching a bottomed portion. The spacer 534 may includesilicon. The spacer 534 may include a material having an etchselectivity with respect to the information storage layer 532. Theanisotropic etching will expose the bottomed portion where the spacer534 does not cover. Some portion of layers including information storagelayer on the bottomed portion of the opening may remain after etching.

Referring to FIG. 13F, the information storage layer 532 not exposed bythe spacer 534 may be etched by using the spacer 534 as an etch mask.During the etching, the surface of the substrate 503 may be exposed. Theinformation storage layer 532 formed on the top surface of the convexportion B, the top surface of the string select insulating layer 516,the top surfaces of the insulating layers 510-515, the top surface ofthe dummy insulating layer pattern 524 and the top surfaces of thecontact inclining portions CT may be removed. In the case where thespacer 534 includes polysilicon, the spacer 534 may be removed or notremoved and used as a portion of active region. In the case where thespacer 534 is an insulator, the spacer 534 may be removed andsemiconductor material for an active region may be formed on the sideand bottom of the resultant opening.

Actives filling the active memory string openings 530 may be formed. Theactive memory string structure may include, but is not limited to, asingle crystalline semiconductor. In the case where the active memorystring structure includes a single crystalline semiconductor, the activememory string structure may be formed by an epitaxial growth which usesthe substrate 501 as a seed layer. Alternatively, the active memorystring structure may be formed by forming a polycrystalline or amorphoussemiconductor layer filling the active memory string openings 530 andthen performing a phase transition of the formed polycrystalline oramorphous semiconductor layer through a heat or laser treatment. In thecase where the spacer 534 is not removed, the active memory stringstructure may include the same material as the spacer 534. The activememory string structure may be formed in a form filling the activememory string opening 530, or in a hollow cylindrical form.

A drain region D may be formed at an upper portion of the active memorystring structure. The drain region D may be formed by doping the upperportion of the active memory string structure. The drain region D may bea region where dopants having a conductive type different from that ofthe well are included at a high concentration. For example, the drainregion D may include a high concentration of n-type dopant. The drainregion may be of pad shape of tubular shape.

Referring to FIG. 13G, a gate insulating layer 554 may be formed on thetop surface of the convex portion B. The forming of the gate insulatinglayer 554 may include thermally oxidizing the semiconductor layer 552.In the case where the gate insulating layer 554 is formed by a thermaloxidation, an oxide layer may be formed on the top surface of thecontact inclining portion CT. Therefore, prior to forming of the gateinsulating layer 554, a mask layer covering the concave portion A andexposing the convex portion B may be additively formed. The mask layermay be an insulating layer.

The gate insulating layer 554 may include a silicon oxide layer. A gateelectrode 556 may be formed on the gate insulating layer 554. Source anddrain regions 553 may be formed in the semiconductor layer 552 at bothsides of the gate electrode 556. The source and drain regions 553 may beformed by implanting an impurity into the semiconductor layer 552.

Referring to FIG. 13H, a gate spacer 558 may be formed on both sidewallsof the gate electrode 556. A first interlayer insulating layer 560 maybe formed on the substrate 501. The first interlayer insulating layer560 may cover a peripheral circuit on the convex portion B. The firstinterlayer insulating layer 560 may include a silicon oxide layer.

A contact opening 562, a bit line opening 564 and a peripheral circuitopening 566 respectively exposing the contact inclining portions CT ofthe conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, the drain region D of the activeand a top surface of the gate electrode 556 of the peripheral circuitmay be formed by etching the first interlayer insulating layer 560. Atthis time, an opening exposing the source and drain regions 553 of theperipheral circuit region β may be also formed. The etching of the firstinterlayer insulating layer 560 may be performed by using an anisotropicetching.

As aforementioned, in the case where the gate insulating layer 554 isformed by a thermal oxidation process and thus an oxide layer is formedon the top surfaces of the contact inclining portions CT of theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL of the cell region α, the masklayer may be etched to expose the contact inclining portions CT whilethe first interlayer insulating layer 560 is etched. Unlike this, in thecase where the gate insulating layer 554 is formed by a thermaloxidation process but an oxide layer is formed on the top surfaces ofthe contact inclining portions CT of the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL because a mask layer is not formed on the top surfaces ofthe contact inclining portions CT of the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL, the oxide layer may be etched while the first interlayerinsulating layer 560 is etched.

Again referring to FIG. 12A, contact plugs GCP, CP, bit line contactplugs BLCP and a peripheral circuit contact plug PCP respectivelyfilling the contact opening 562, the bit line opening 564 and theperipheral circuit opening 566 may be formed.

The ground select contact plug GCP may be electrically connected withthe contact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL. The wordline contact plugs CP may be electrically connected with the word linesWL1-WL4. Each of the contact plugs GCP, CP may include a material havingconductivity higher than the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4. Theperipheral circuit contact plug PCP may be electrically connected withthe gate electrode 556. The peripheral circuit contact plug PCP mayinclude a material having conductivity higher than the gate electrode556. For example, the contact plugs GCP, CP, the bit line contact plugBLCP and the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP may include tungsten.

A second conductive line ML2 may be formed on the ground select contactplug GCP. A first conductive line ML1 may be formed on the word linecontact plug CP. A bit line BL may be formed on the bit line contactplug BLCP. A fourth conductive line ML4 may be formed on the peripheralcircuit contact plug PCP. The forming of the second conductive line ML2,the first conductive line ML1, the bit line BL and the fourth conductiveline ML4 may include forming a conductive layer on the first interlayerinsulating layer 560 and patterning the conductive layer.

A second interlayer insulating layer 570 covering the second conductiveline ML2, the first conductive line ML1 and the fourth conductive lineML4 may be formed. The second interlayer insulating layer 570 mayinclude the same material as the first interlayer insulating layer 560.A string select contact plug SCP penetrating the second interlayerinsulating layer 570 and the first interlayer insulating layer 580 andfilling an opening exposing the contact inclining portion of the stringselect line SSL may be formed. The string select contact plug SCP mayinclude a material having conductivity higher than the string selectline SSL. A third conductive line ML3 may be formed on the string selectcontact plug SCP. The forming of the third conductive line ML3 mayinclude forming a conductive layer on the second interlayer insulatinglayer 570 and patterning the conductive layer. By doing so, thesemiconductor device described with reference to FIG. 12A may beprovided.

A method for forming a semiconductor device according to the modifiedexample of the fifth embodiment of the inventive concept, described withreference to FIG. 12B will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 12B, in the method of forming a semiconductor devicedescribed with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13H, and FIG. 12A, the concaveportion A and the convex portion B may be defined by forming aninsulating layer 504 on the substrate 500, etching a portion of theinsulating layer 504 corresponding to the concave portion A and leavinga portion of the insulating layer 504 corresponding to the convexportion B.

A semiconductor layer 552 may be formed on the convex portion B of theperipheral circuit region β. The forming of the semiconductor layer 552may include bonding the semiconductor layer 552 on the top surface ofthe convex portion B or growing the semiconductor layer 552. Thesemiconductor layer 552 may include silicon. A gate insulating layer 554may be formed on the semiconductor layer 552. Thereafter, a peripheralcircuit may be formed by the method of forming the peripheral circuitdescribed with reference to FIGS. 13G to 13H.

A method for forming a semiconductor device according to anothermodified example of the fifth embodiment of the inventive concept,described with reference to FIG. 12C will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 12C, in the method for forming a semiconductor devicedescribed with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13H and FIG. 12A, at least oneof the first sidewall 505 and the second sidewall 506 may be formedinclined with respect to the bottom surface 503. In this case, thecontact inclining portions CT and the dummy inclining portions DCT maybe formed inclined with respect to the bottom surface 503 and the bottomportions BP. The sidewall portions of the insulating layers 510-516 maybe formed inclined with respect to the bottom surface 503.

A semiconductor device according to a sixth embodiment of the inventiveconcept will now be described. FIG. 14A FIG. 14B is a plan view forexplaining a semiconductor device according to a sixth embodiment of theinventive concept, and FIG. 15A is a sectional view taken along lineVI-VI′ of FIG. 14.

Referring to FIGS. 14A through 14B and 15A, a substrate 601 is provided.The substrate 601 may be a semiconductor-based substrate. The substrate601 may include a well. The well may include a first conductive typedopant. A common source region 602 may be disposed in the substrate 601.The common source region 602 may be disposed in a plate form within acell region of the substrate 601. Alternatively, the common sourceregion may be of line type on the substrate. For example, the commonsource region may be formed by implanting a trench formed for gatereplacement process. The common source region 602 may include a highconcentration of dopant. The dopant included in the common source region602 may have a second conductive type, which is different from theconductive type of the dopant included in the well. For example, in thecase where the well includes a p-type dopant, the common source region602 may include a high concentration of n-type dopant.

The substrate 601 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion Amay include a bottom surface 603, and first and second sidewalls 605 and606 facing each other. The substrate 601 may include a convex portion Bextended from the first and second sidewalls 605 and 606. A top surfaceof the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface ofthe concave portion A. The concave portion A and the convex portion Bmay be formed by etching a portion of a semiconductor substratecorresponding to the concave portion A and leaving a portion of thesemiconductor substrate corresponding to the convex portion B. In thiscase, the substrate 601 may be one body substrate.

The substrate 601 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion f3. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. The cellregion α may include the concave portion A and the convex portion B. Inthe peripheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.

The cell region α of the substrate 601 will now be described.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 605 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 606. A cell array region CAR may bedisposed between the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2. That is, the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2 may be spaced apart from each other with the cell arrayregion CAR in-between.

Conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL spaced apart from one another maybe disposed on the substrate 601. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL may include a ground select line GSL, word lines WL1-WL4, and astring select line SSL, which are sequentially stacked on the concaveportion A of the substrate 601. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4,SSL may be spaced apart from one another with inter-gate insulatinglayers 610-614 in-between. For example, the ground select line GSL, thefirst inter-gate insulating layer 610, the first word line WL1, thesecond inter-gate insulating layer 611, the second word line WL2, thethird inter-gate insulating layer 612, the third word line WL3, thefourth inter-gate insulating layer 613, the fourth word line WL4, thefifth inter-gate insulating layer 614 and the string select line SSL maybe sequentially stacked. The insulating layers 610-614 may includebottom portions above the bottom surface 603 of the concave portion A ofthe substrate 601, and sidewall portions extended over the firstsidewall 605 and the second sidewall 606 from the bottom portionsthereof. A string select insulating layer 615 may be disposed on thestring select line SSL. The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL mayhave a line form extending in a first direction. The first direction maybe a direction of line VI-VI′.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 603 of the concave portion A. Lengthsof the bottom portions BP may be shortened as it goes far from theconcave portion A of the substrate 601. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the bottom surface 603. The bottom portions BP may be inparallel with the top surface of the convex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over any of the first sidewall 605 and the secondsidewall 606 from one ends of the bottom portions BP. A contact regionwhere the contact inclining portion of any one of the conductivepatterns is disposed may be different from a contact region where thecontact inclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to theany one of the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where thecontact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL is disposedin the first contact region CR1, the contact inclining portion CT of thefirst word line WL1 adjacent to the ground select line GSL may bedisposed in the second contact region CR2.

An extended line of the contact inclining portion CT may cross thebottom surface 603. The extended line may cross the bottom surface 603at a right angle. A length of the contact inclining portion CT may bedecreased as it goes far from the concave portion A. A top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT may be coplanar with the top surface ofthe convex portion B. An angle between the contact inclining portion CTand the bottom portion BP may be 90°.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include dummy incliningportions DCT extended over the other one of the first sidewall 605 andthe second sidewall 606 from the other ends of the bottom portions BPabove the bottom surface 603. A contact region where the dummy incliningportion of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL isdisposed may be different from a contact region where the dummyinclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any oneof the conductive patterns. For example, in the case where the dummyinclining portion DCT of the string select line SSL is disposed in thefirst contact region CR1, the dummy inclining portion DCT of the fourthword line WL4 adjacent to the string select line SSL may be disposed inthe second contact region CR2.

Each of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include onecontact inclining portion CT and one dummy inclining portion DCT. In oneof the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL, a length of the dummyinclining portion DCT may be shorter than that of the contact incliningportion CT. The contact inclining portion CT may be disposed between thedummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to each other. The contactinclining portions CT adjacent to one of the dummy inclining portionsDCT may be spaced apart from each other by the sidewalls of theinsulating layers interposed therebetween.

A dummy insulating layer pattern 664 may be disposed on the dummyinclining portion DCT. A top surface of the dummy insulating layerpattern 664 may be coplanar with the top surface of the convex portionB. The top surface of the dummy insulating layer pattern 664 may becoplanar with a top surface of the string select insulating layer 615.Sidewalls of the dummy insulating layer pattern 664 may be coplanar withsidewalls of the dummy inclining portion DCT. The dummy insulating layerpattern 664 may include the same material as the insulating layers610-615.

Conductive plugs may be disposed on the contact inclining portions CT ofthe word lines WL1-WL4, respectively. The conductive plugs may be wordline contact plugs CP. The word lines WL1-WL4 may be electricallyconnected with the word line contact plugs CP, respectively. Widths ofthe word line contact plugs CP may be wider than those of the topsurfaces of the contact inclining portions CT of the word lines WL1-WL4.The widths of the word line contact plugs CP may be greater than widthsbetween the dummy inclining portions DCT adjacent to the contactinclining portions of the word lines WL1-WL4. The word line contactplugs may penetrate a first interlayer insulating layer 680. Firstconductive lines ML1 may be disposed on the word line contact plugs CPand the first interlayer insulating layer 680. The word line contactplugs CP may be electrically connected with the first conductive linesML1. The first conductive lines ML1 may extend in a second directioncrossing the first direction. The first conductive lines ML1 may beelectrically connected with the word lines WL1-WL4 through the word linecontact plugs CP. Unlike this, the first conductive lines ML1 may bedirectly connected with the word lines WL1-WL4. A second interlayerinsulating layer 690 covering the first conductive lines ML1 may bedisposed. The first and second interlayer insulating layers 680 and 690may include the same material.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe ground select line GSL. The conductive plug may be a ground selectcontact plug GCP. The ground select line GSL may be electricallyconnected with the ground select contact plug GCP. A width of the groundselect contact plug GCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL. Theground select contact plug GCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 680. A second conductive line ML2 may be disposed onthe ground select contact plug GCP and the first interlayer insulatinglayer 680. The ground select contact plug GCP may be electricallyconnected with the second conductive line ML2. The second conductiveline ML2 may extend in the second direction. The second conductive lineML2 may be electrically connected with the ground select line GSLthrough the ground select contact plug GCP. Unlike this, the secondconductive line ML2 may be directly connected with the ground selectline GSL. The second interlayer insulating layer 690 may cover thesecond conductive line ML2.

A conductive plug may be disposed on the contact inclining portion CT ofthe string select line SSL. The conductive plug may be a string selectcontact plug SCP. The string select line SSL may be electricallyconnected with the string select contact plug SCP. A width of the stringselect contact plug SCP may be wider than a width of a top surface ofthe contact inclining portion CT of the string select line SSL. Thestring select contact plug SCP may penetrate the first interlayerinsulating layer 680 and the second interlayer insulating layer 690. Athird conductive line ML3 may be disposed on the string select contactplug SCP and the second interlayer insulating layer 690. The stringselect contact plug SCP may be electrically connected with the thirdconductive line ML3. The third conductive line ML3 may extend in thefirst direction. Referring to the FIG. 14B, a plurality of the stringselect line SSL may dispose in the concave portion. And the thirdconductive lines ML3 of the string select lines SSL adjacent to eachother may extend different direction.

The conductive lines ML1, ML2 may be disposed separated in both sideswith the cell array region CAR in-between. The conductive line connectedwith one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4 may be disposed in acontact region different from the conductive line connected with theconductive pattern adjacent to the one conductive pattern. For example,the first conductive line ML1 connected with the first word line WL1 maybe disposed in the second contact region CR2, and the second conductiveline ML2 and the first conductive line ML1 respectively connected withthe ground select line GSL adjacent to the first word line WL1 and thesecond word line WL2 may be disposed in the first contact region CR1. Inthis embodiment, trenches for cutting the conductive patterns WL1-WL4,GSL and integrate layers are formed. The trenches will be used for gatereplacement and filling layers including information storage layer.

An active memory string structure extending upward from the bottomsurface 603 of the concave portion A may be disposed. The active memorystring structure may extend perpendicular to the substrate 601. Theactive memory string structure may penetrate the conductive patternsGSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. Alternatively, the active memory string structure mayface sidewalls of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL. One end ofthe active memory string structure may be electrically connected withthe common source region 602. A drain region D may be disposed at theother end of the active memory string structure. The drain region D maybe a region doped with a high concentration of dopant. The active memorystring structure may include a single crystalline semiconductor.

A bit line contact plug BLCP may be disposed on the drain region 623 ofthe active memory string structure. The bit line contact plug BLCP maybe electrically connected with the drain region 623 and penetrate thefirst interlayer insulating layer 680. A bit line BL may be disposed onthe bit line contact plug BLCP. The bit line BL may be connected withthe drain region 623 of the active memory string structure through thebit line contact plug BLCP. Unlike this, the bit line BL may be directlyconnected with the drain region 623. The bit line BL may extend in thesecond direction crossing the first direction. The bit line BL may crossthe third conductive line ML3.

An information storage layer 640 may be disposed between the sidewall ofthe active memory string structure and the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL. Layers containing the information storage layer 640 may bedisposed between the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL and theinsulating layers 610-615.

The information storage layer 640 according to the sixth embodiment ofthe inventive concept may be the information storage layer describedwith reference to FIG. 6A or 6B.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 601 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A gate insulating layer654 may be disposed on the top surface of the convex portion B. The gateinsulating layer 654 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 654 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe top surface of the convex portion B. A gate electrode 656 may bedisposed on the gate insulating layer 654. The gate electrode 656 mayinclude one selected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon,metal and metal silicide. A spacer 658 may be disposed on both sidewallsof the gate electrode 656. Source and drain regions 653 may be disposedin the convex portion B at both sides of the gate electrode 656. Thesource and drain regions 653 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant.

A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the first interlayerinsulating layer 680 may be disposed on the gate electrode 656 and thesource and drain regions 653. A fourth conductive line ML4 may bedisposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A second interlayerinsulating layer 690 may be disposed on the fourth conductive line ML4.

A modified example of the sixth embodiment of the inventive concept willnow be described. FIG. 15B is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI′of FIG. 14A through FIG. 14B, for explaining a modified example of thesixth embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 14A through 14B and 15B, a substrate 600 is provided.A common source region 602 may be disposed in the substrate 600. Thesubstrate 600 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A mayinclude a bottom surface 603, and first and second sidewalls 605 and 606facing each other. The substrate 600 may include a convex portion Bextending from the first and second sidewalls 605 and 606. A top surfaceof the convex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface 603of the concave portion A. The convex portion B may be defined by aninsulating layer 604 disposed on the substrate 600.

Referring to FIGS. 14A and 14B, as in FIGS. 1A and 1B, aninterconnection, extending outside one edge of the cell array portion,is electrically connected to contact inclining portion of a word line atone side, whereas another interconnection, extending outside the otheredge of the cell array portion, is electrically connected to contactinclining portion of a word line at another side. According to FIG. 14A,all SSLs are connected to interconnections at either side, whereas someSSLs are connected to interconnections at one side, and some SSLs areconnected to interconnections at another side for FIG. 14B. The wordline may be chosen alternatingly. That is, odd numbered word lines frombottom to top direction of a string for example, first, third, fifthword lines are connected to interconnections at one side of a string,and even numbered word lines for example, second, fourth, sixth wordlines connected to interconnections at the other side of a string.

The substrate 600 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. In theperipheral circuit region β, a peripheral circuit may be disposed.

The cell region α of the substrate 600 will now be described.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 605 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 606. The memory cell explained withreference to FIG. 15A may be disposed in the cell region α of thesubstrate 600.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 600 will now bedescribed.

A peripheral circuit may be disposed on a top surface of the convexportion B of the peripheral circuit region β. A semiconductor layer 672may be disposed on a top surface of the insulating layer 604. Thesemiconductor layer 672 may be semiconductor materials includingpolysilicon, crystalline silicon and single crystalline silicon. A gateinsulating layer 674 may be disposed on the semiconductor layer 672. Thegate insulating layer 674 may include a silicon oxide layer. The gateinsulating layer 674 may include a portion formed by thermally oxidizingthe semiconductor layer 672. A gate electrode 676 may be disposed on thegate insulating layer 674. The gate electrode 676 may include oneselected from the group consisting of doped polysilicon, metal and metalsilicide. A gate spacer 678 may be disposed on both sidewalls of thegate electrode 676. Source and drain regions 673 may be disposed in thesemiconductor layer 672 at both sides of the gate electrode 676. Thesource and drain regions 673 may be regions doped with a highconcentration of dopant.

A peripheral circuit contact plug PCP penetrating the first interlayerinsulating layer 680 may be disposed on the gate electrode 676 and thesource and drain regions 673. A fourth conductive line ML4 may bedisposed on the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP. A second interlayerinsulating layer 690 may be disposed on the fourth conductive line ML4.

A semiconductor device according to another modified example of thesixth embodiment of the inventive concept will now be described. Thisexemplary embodiment is modified to be inclined. FIG. 15C is a sectionalview taken along line VI-VI′ of FIG. 14, for showing this other modifiedexample of the sixth embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15C, a substrate 601 is provided. A commonsource region 602 may be disposed in the substrate 601. The substrate601 may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 603, and first and second sidewalls 605 and 606 facingeach other. Any one of the first and second sidewalls 605 and 606 may beinclined to the bottom surface 603 of the concave portion A. Forexample, the first sidewall 605 and the second sidewall 606 may have anangle, which is 50 to 90 degrees with respect to the bottom surface 603.A slope of the first sidewall 605 with respect to the bottom surface 603may be equal to that of the second sidewall 606 with respect to thebottom surface 603. Alternatively, the slope of the first sidewall 605with respect to the bottom surface 603 may be different from that of thesecond sidewall 606 with respect to the bottom surface 603. Thesubstrate 601 may include a convex portion B extending from the firstand second sidewalls 605 and 606. A top surface of the convex portion Bmay be in parallel with the bottom surface 603 of the concave portion A.The concave portion A and the convex portion B of the substrate 601 maybe defined through an etching process of the substrate 601.Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 15B, the convexportion B may be defined by the insulating layer 604 on the substrate601.

The substrate 601 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion 3. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. Theperipheral circuit region f3 may include a peripheral circuit.

The cell region α of the substrate 601 will now be described.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 605 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 606. The memory cell explained withreference to FIG. 15A may be disposed in the cell region α of thesubstrate 601. A contact inclining portion CT and a dummy incliningportion DCT of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL mayhave an inclined slope with respect to a bottom portion BP.

An angle between the sidewall adjacent to the contact region where thecontact inclining portion CT is disposed, and the bottom surface 603 maybe equal to an angle between the contact inclining portion CT and thebottom portion BP. For example, in the case of the first word line WL1,a slope of the contact inclining portion CT with respect to the bottomportion BP may be equal to a slope of the second sidewall 606 withrespect to the bottom surface 603. When the slopes of the first sidewall605 and the second sidewall 606 with respect to the bottom surface 603are different from each other, the slope of the contact incliningportion with respect to the bottom portion BP in any one conductivepattern may be different from the slope of the dummy inclining portionDCT with respect to the bottom portion BP.

The peripheral circuit region β of the substrate 601 will now bedescribed.

In the peripheral circuit region 3 of the substrate 601, the peripheralcircuit described with reference to FIG. 15A may be disposed.Alternatively, as aforementioned, in the case where the substrate is thesubstrate described with reference to FIG. 15B, a semiconductor layer672 may be added.

A method for forming a semiconductor device according to the sixthembodiment will now be described. FIGS. 16A to 16I are cross-sectionalviews for explaining a method for forming a semiconductor deviceaccording to the sixth embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 16A, a substrate 601 is provided. The substrate 601may include a concave portion A. The concave portion A may include abottom surface 603, and first and second sidewalls 605 and 606 facingeach other. The substrate 601 may include a convex portion B extendedfrom the first and second sidewalls 605 and 606. A top surface of theconvex portion B may be in parallel with the bottom surface of theconcave portion A. The concave portion A and the convex portion B of thesubstrate 601 may be defined by partially etching a portion of asubstrate corresponding to the concave portion A. In this case, thesubstrate 600 may be a single body substrate.

The substrate 601 may include a cell region α and a peripheral circuitregion β. In the cell region α, a memory cell may be disposed. The cellregion α may include the concave portion A and the convex portion B. Theperipheral circuit region β may include a peripheral circuit. Theperipheral circuit region β may include the convex portion B.

The cell region α may include a first contact region CR1 adjacent to thefirst sidewall 605 of the concave portion A, and a second contact regionCR2 adjacent to the second sidewall 606. A cell array region CAR may bedisposed between the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2. That is, the first contact region CR1 and the second contactregion CR2 may be spaced apart from each other with the cell arrayregion CAR in-between.

The substrate 601 may be a single crystalline semiconductor substrate(e.g., p-type silicon wafer). The substrate 601 may include a well. Thewell may be formed by introducing a dopant into the substrate 601. Thedopant may be introduced by a doping process including an ionimplantation or a plasma implantation. A common source region 602 may beprovided in an upper portion of the substrate 601. The common sourceregion 602 may be formed by doping a dopant into the well. The commonsource region 602 may include a dopant having a conductive type, whichis different from the conductive type of the well. In one embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the common source region may be formed in thebottomed region of the trench. For example, the well may include ap-type dopant and the common source region 602 may include an n-typedopant.

Sacrificial layers SC1-SC6 and insulating layers 610-615 may bealternatingly stacked on the concave portion A of the substrate 601. Forexample, the first sacrificial layer SC1, the first inter-gateinsulating layer 610, the second sacrificial layer SC2, the secondinter-gate insulating layer 611, the third sacrificial layer SC3, thethird inter-gate insulating layer 612, the fourth sacrificial layer SC4,the fourth inter-gate insulating layer 613, the fifth sacrificial layerSC5, the fifth inter-gate insulating layer 614, the sixth sacrificiallayer SC6 and the string select insulating layer 615 may be sequentiallyformed. The sacrificial layers SC1-SC6 and the insulating layers 610-615may be also formed on the top surface of the convex portion B. Each ofthe sacrificial layers SC1-SC6 and the insulating layers 610-615 mayinclude a bottom portion on the bottom surface 603 of the concaveportion A, and a sidewall portion extended over the first sidewall 605and the second sidewall 606. The material of the sacrificial layers maybe a material that can be selectively removed. For example, thesacrificial layer comprises silicon nitride, which can be selectivelyremoved by phosphoric acid or phosphor containing acid.

The insulating layers 610-615 may include a silicon oxide layer. Thesacrificial layers SC1-SC6 may be formed of materials that can minimizean etching of the insulating layers 610-615 and be selectively etched.For example, the sacrificial layers SC1-SC6 may include a siliconnitride layer.

A planarizing process may be performed by using the top surface of theconvex portion B as an etch stop layer. The planarizing process may beperformed by using any of an etch-back or a chemical mechanicalpolishing (CMP). The top surface of the convex portion B may be coplanarwith top surfaces of the sidewall portions of the insulating layers610-615. Top surfaces of the sidewall portions of the sacrificial layersSC1-SC6 may be coplanar with the top surfaces of the sidewall portionsof the insulating layers 610-615 and the top surface of the convexportion B.

Referring to FIG. 16B, first openings 620 exposing the bottom surface603 of the concave portion A of the substrate 601 may be formed bypatterning the alternatingly stacked insulating layers 610-615 andsacrificial layers SC1-SC6. The patterning for forming the openings 620may be performed by an anisotropic etching technique. The first openings620 may expose the bottom surface 603 of the concave portion A,sidewalls of the insulating layers 610-615, and sidewalls of thesacrificial layers SC1-SC6.

Referring to FIG. 16C, active memory string structures covering innerwalls of the openings 620 may be formed. The active memory stringstructures may be formed by conformably covering the inner walls of theopenings 620 using a chemical vapor deposition or atomic layerdeposition (ALD). The active memory string structures may be formed inthe same conductive type as the substrate 601 which the active memorystring structures contact, so that the active memory string structuresmay be electrically connected with the substrate 601. For example, theactive memory string structure may include a single crystalline siliconwhich is continuous with the substrate 601 without any crystal defect.For this purpose, the active memory string structures may be grown fromthe exposed substrate 601 by using one of epitaxial techniques. Theremaining spaces of the first openings 620 may be filled with aninsulating material 624 (e.g., silicon oxide, silicon nitride or air). Adrain region 623 may be formed at an upper portion of the active memorystring structure. The shape of active may be pillar, tubular orbar-sided.

A preliminary gate separating region exposing the bottom surface 603 ofthe concave portion A of the substrate 601 may be formed by patterningthe insulating layers 610-615 and the sacrificial layers SC1-SC6. Thepreliminary gate separating region may be formed between the activememory string structures adjacent in the second direction (See FIG. 14).Sidewalls of the insulating layers 610-615 and sidewalls of thesacrificial layers SC1-SC6 may be exposed by the preliminary gateseparating region. The forming of the preliminary gate separating regionmay be the same as that of the first opening 620.

Referring to FIG. 16D, the sacrificial layers SC1-SC6 exposed by thepreliminary gate separating region may be removed. Trenches for exposingsacrificial layers may be formed and removing the sacrificial layers isconducted by using the area formed by trenches. Gate regions 630exposing the sidewalls of the active memory string structures may beformed between the insulating layers 610-615. The removing of thesacrificial layers SC1-SC6 may be performed by using an etch recipehaving an etch selectivity with respect to the insulating material 624.The removing of the sacrificial layers SC1-SC6 may be performed by usinga dry or wet etch, an isotropic etch, or both. At this time, filledactive memory string structure and core portion of an insulatingmaterial may act as a supporter for sustaining insulating layers 610-615for inter-gate layer.

Referring to FIG. 16E, layers including an information storage layer 640may be conformably formed on the resultant substrate in which the gateregions 630 are formed. The information storage layer 640 may be formedon the sidewalls of the active memory string structures exposed by thegate regions 630. Layers including the information storage layer 640 maybe formed on the top surface of the convex portion B, the top surface ofthe string select insulating layer 615, and portions of the insulatinglayers 610-615 exposed by the gate regions 630.

A method for forming the information storage layer 640 will now bedescribed again with reference to FIG. 6. The forming of the informationstorage layer 640 may include forming a tunnel insulating layer 242covering the sidewalls of the active memory string structures, forming acharge storage layer 244 covering the tunnel insulating layer 242, andforming a blocking layer covering the charge storage layer 244.

Again referring to FIG. 16E, a preliminary gate conductive layer 650filling the preliminary gate separating regions and the gate regions maybe formed on the information storage layer 640. The preliminary gateconductive layer 650 may include at least one selected from the groupconsisting of a polycrystalline silicon layer, silicide layers and metallayers, which are formed by using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) oratomic layer deposition (ALD) providing a superior step coverage.Meanwhile, since the information storage layer 640 is also formed on thesubstrate 601, the preliminary gate conductive layer 650 may beelectrically separated from the substrate 601.

Referring to FIG. 16F, after the preliminary gate conductive layer 650is formed, an etch process may be performed. The etch process may beperformed by using a wet etch, dry etch or both. The preliminary gateconductive layer 650 and the information storage layer 640 on the topsurface of the convex portion B may be removed. The preliminary gateconductive layer 650 of the preliminary gate separating region may beremoved.

Next processes in this embodiment may be similar to those in theembodiment as demonstrated in FIGS. 13F to 13G.

By patterning the preliminary gate conductive layer 650, conductivepatterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may be formed.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include bottom portions BPdisposed above the bottom surface 603 of the concave portion A. Theconductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include contact incliningportions CT extended over one of the first sidewall 605 and the secondsidewall 606 from one ends of the bottom portions BP. A contact regionwhere the contact inclining portion of any one of the conductivepatterns is disposed may be different from a contact region where thecontact inclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to theany one of the conductive patterns. An exposed top surface of thecontact inclining portion CT may be coplanar with the top surface of theconvex portion B.

The conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL may include dummy incliningportions DCT extended over the other one of the first sidewall 605 andthe second sidewall 606 from the other ends of the bottom portions BPabove the bottom surface 603. A contact region where the dummy incliningportion of any one of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL isdisposed may be different from a contact region where the dummyinclining portion of another conductive pattern adjacent to the any oneof the conductive patterns. Each of the conductive patterns GSL,WL1-WL4, SSL may include one contact inclining portion CT and one dummyinclining portion DCT.

A mask pattern 660 covering the exposed top surface of the contactinclining portions may be formed. The mask pattern 660 may expose thedummy inclining portions DCT. The forming of the mask pattern 660 mayinclude forming a mask layer on the substrate 601, and patterning themask layer. The mask pattern 660 may include a material having an etchselectivity with respect to the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSLand the insulating layers 610-615. For example, the mask pattern 660 mayinclude a silicon nitride layer or a photoresist pattern.

Referring to FIG. 16G, the dummy inclining portions DCT may be partiallyetched by using the mask pattern 660 as an etch mask. As a result, dummyrecess portions 662 may be formed. Lengths of the dummy incliningportions DCT may be shorter than lengths of the contact incliningportions CT. Due to the dummy recess portions 522, sidewalls of theinsulating layers 610-615 may be partially exposed. The etching of thedummy inclining portions DCT may be performed by using an etch recipe inwhich the etch rate of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL ishigher than that of the mask pattern 660 and the insulating layers610-615. Thereafter, the mask pattern 660 may be removed.

Referring to FIG. 16H, a dummy insulating layer pattern 664 filling thedummy recess portions 662 may be formed. The forming of the dummyinsulating layer pattern 664 may include forming a dummy insulatinglayer on the substrate 601, and performing a planarizing process byusing the top surface of the convex portion B or a top surface of thestring select insulating layer 615 as an etch stop layer. A top surfaceof the dummy insulating layer pattern 664 may be coplanar with the topsurface of the convex portion B. The top surface of the dummy insulatinglayer pattern 664 may be coplanar with the top surfaces of the stringselect insulating layer 615 and the contact inclining portion CT.

A gate insulating layer 674 may be formed on the top surface of theconvex portion B. The gate insulating layer 674 may be formed through athermal oxidation process. The gate insulating layer 674 may include asilicon oxide layer having a thickness ranging from about 40 angstromsto about 300 angstroms. In the case where the gate insulating layer 674is formed by a thermal oxidation process, an oxide layer may be formedon the top surface of the contact inclining portion CT of the conductivepatterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL of the exposed cell region α. Therefore,prior to forming of the gate insulating layer 674, a mask layer coveringthe concave portion A and exposing the convex portion B may beadditively formed. The mask layer may be an insulating layer.

A gate electrode 676 may be formed on the gate insulating layer 674.Source and drain regions 673 may be formed in the convex portion B atboth sides of the gate electrode 676. The source and drain regions 673may be regions doped with a high concentration of dopant.

Referring to FIG. 16I, a gate spacer 678 may be formed on both sidewallsof the gate electrode 676. A first interlayer insulating layer 680covering an entire surface of the substrate 601 may be formed. The firstinterlayer insulating layer 680 may include a silicon oxide layer. Acontact opening 686 exposing the top surface of the contact incliningportions CT, a bit line opening 684 exposing the drain region 623 and aperipheral circuit opening 686 exposing the gate electrode 676 of theperipheral circuit region β may be formed by etching the firstinterlayer insulating layer 680. An opening exposing the source anddrain regions 673 of the peripheral circuit region β may be also formed.The etching of the first interlayer insulating layer 680 may includeetching the first interlayer insulating layer 680 using an anisotropicetching.

As aforementioned, in the case where the gate insulating layer 674 isformed by a thermal oxidation process and the mask layer is formed onthe top surface of the contact inclining portions CT of the conductivepatterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL of the cell region α, the mask layer may beetched to expose the contact inclining portions CT while the firstinterlayer insulating layer 680 is etched. Unlike this, in the casewhere the gate insulating layer 674 is formed by a thermal oxidationprocess but an oxide layer is formed on the top surfaces of the contactinclining portions CT of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSLbecause a mask layer is not formed on the top surfaces of the contactinclining portions CT of the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4, SSL, theoxide layer may be etched to expose the contact inclining portion CTwhile the first interlayer insulating layer 680 is etched.

Again referring to FIG. 15A, contact plugs GCP, CP, bit line contactplugs BLCP and a peripheral circuit contact plug PCP respectivelyfilling the contact opening 682, the bit line opening 684 and theperipheral circuit opening 686 may be formed.

The ground select contact plug GCP may be electrically connected withthe contact inclining portion CT of the ground select line GSL. The wordline contact plugs CP may be electrically connected with the word linesWL1-WL4. Each of the contact plugs GCP, CP may include a material havingconductivity higher than the conductive patterns GSL, WL1-WL4. Theperipheral circuit contact plug PCP may be electrically connected withthe gate electrode 676. The peripheral circuit contact plug PCP mayinclude a material having conductivity higher than the gate electrode676. For example, the contact plugs GCP, CP, the bit line contact plugBLCP and the peripheral circuit contact plug PCP may include tungsten.

A second conductive line ML2 may be formed on the ground select contactplug GCP. A first conductive line ML1 may be formed on the word linecontact plug CP. A bit line BL may be formed on the bit line contactplug BLCP. A fourth conductive line ML4 may be formed on the peripheralcircuit contact plug PCP. The forming of the second conductive line ML2,the first conductive line ML1, the bit line BL and the fourth conductiveline ML4 may include forming a conductive layer on the first interlayerinsulating layer 680 and patterning the conductive layer.

A second interlayer insulating layer 690 covering the second conductiveline ML2, the first conductive line ML1 and the fourth conductive lineML4 may be formed. The second interlayer insulating layer 690 mayinclude the same material as the first interlayer insulating layer 680.A string select contact plug SCP penetrating the second interlayerinsulating layer 690 and filling an opening exposing the contactinclining portion of the string select line SSL may be formed. Thestring select contact plug SCP may include a material havingconductivity higher than the string select line SSL. A third conductiveline ML3 may be formed on the string select contact plug SCP. Theforming of the third conductive line ML3 may include forming aconductive layer on the second interlayer insulating layer 690 andpatterning the conductive layer. By doing so, the semiconductor devicedescribed with reference to FIG. 15A may be provided.

Methods for forming semiconductor devices according to modified examplesare now addressed.

A method for forming a semiconductor device according to the modifiedexample of the six embodiment of the inventive concept, described withreference to FIG. 15B will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 15B, in the method of forming a semiconductor devicedescribed with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16I, and FIG. 15A, the formingof the concave portion A and the convex portion B of the substrate 600may include forming an insulating layer 604 on the substrate 600,etching the insulating layer 604 on the concave portion A, and leavingthe insulating layer 604 on the convex portion B.

In the method for forming the peripheral circuit described withreference to FIG. 15B, a semiconductor layer 672 may be formed on theconvex portion B of the peripheral circuit region β. For example, thesemiconductor layer 672 may be formed by bonding the semiconductor layer672 on the insulating layer 604 of the convex portion B or growing thesemiconductor layer 672. For example, the semiconductor layer 672 mayinclude a single crystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon. A gateinsulating layer 674 may be formed on the semiconductor layer 672.

A method for forming a semiconductor device according to anothermodified example of the sixth embodiment of the inventive concept,described with reference to FIG. 15C will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 15C, in the method for forming a semiconductor devicedescribed with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16I and FIG. 15A, at least oneof the first sidewall 605 and the second sidewall 606 may be formedinclined with respect to the bottom surface 603. In this case, thecontact inclining portions CT and the dummy inclining portions DCT maybe formed inclined with respect to the bottom surface 603 and the bottomportions BP. The sidewall portions of the insulating layers 510-615 maybe formed inclined with respect to the bottom surface 603.

The semiconductor devices according to the first to third embodiments ofthe inventive concept may be formed with reference to the methods forforming a semiconductor device described with reference to the foregoingFIGS. 12A to 12C and FIGS. 13A to 13H.

The semiconductor devices according to the second embodiment and thefourth embodiment of the inventive concept may be formed with referenceto the methods for forming a semiconductor device described withreference to the foregoing FIGS. 15A to 15C and FIGS. 16A to 16I.

Application examples of the inventive concept will now be described.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a memory system including a semiconductordevice according to embodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 17, a memory system 1100 is applicable to personaldata assistants (PDAs), portable computers, web tablets, wirelessphones, mobile phones, digital music players, memory cards, and anyother device capable of transmitting and/or receiving data wirelessenvironments.

The memory system 1100 includes a controller 1110, an input/outputdevice 1120 (e.g., a keypad, keyboard, and a display), a memory 1130, aninterface 1140, and a bus 1150. The memory 1130 and the interface 1140communicate with each other through the bus 1150.

The controller 1110 includes at least one microprocessor, a digitalsignal processor, a microcontroller, or other similar processor devices.The memory 1130 may be used to store commands executed by the controller1110. The input/output device 1120 may receive/output data or signalsfrom/to an external device of the memory system 1100. For example, theinput/output device 1120 may include a keyboard, a keypad, or a displaydevice.

The memory 1130 includes a nonvolatile memory device according to theembodiments of the inventive concept. The memory 1130 may furtherinclude random-access nonvolatile memories and other types of memories.

The interface 1140 serves to transmit/receive data to/from acommunication network.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an example of a memory card having asemiconductor device according to embodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 18, a memory card 1200 for supporting high-capacitydata storage is mounted with a flash memory device 1210 according to theinventive concept. The memory card 1200 includes a memory controller1220 for controlling data exchange between a host and the flash memorydevice 1210.

An SRAM 1221 is used as a working memory of a processing unit 1222. Ahost interface 1223 has a data exchange protocol for the host connectedto a memory card 1200. An error correction block 1224 detects andcorrects an error in data read from the multi-bit flash memory device1210. A memory interface 1225 interfaces with the flash memory device1210. The processing unit 1222 performs control operations for dataexchange of the memory controller 1220. Although not illustrated in FIG.18, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the memorycard 1200 may further include a ROM storing code data for interfacingwith the host.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an example of an information processingsystem mounted with a semiconductor device according to the inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIG. 19, a flash memory device 1310 of the inventiveconcept is mounted on an information processing system 1300 such as amobile device or a desktop computer. The information processing system1300 includes a flash memory system 1310, a modem 1320, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 1330, a random access memory (RAM) 1340, and auser interface 1350 that are electrically to a system bus 1360. Theflash memory system 1310 may be configured in substantially the samestructure as the afore-mentioned memory system or flash memory system.Data, which are processed by the CPU 1330 or received from an externaldevice, are stored in the flash memory system 1310. Herein, the flashmemory system 1310 may be configured to include a solid state drive(SSD). In this case, the information processing system 1300 can stablystore a large amount of data in the flash memory system 1310. Accordingto an increase in reliability, the flash memory system 1310 can reduceresources taken for error correction, thus providing a high-speed dataexchange function to the information processing system 1300. Althoughnot illustrated in FIG. 19, those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand that the information processing system 1300 may furtherinclude an application chipset, a camera image processor (CIS), and aninput/output device.

Furthermore, the flash memory or flash memory system according toembodiments of the inventive concept may be mounted in various types ofpackages. Examples of the packages of the flash memory or flash memorysystems according to embodiments of the inventive concept may includepackage on package (PoP), ball grid arrays (BGAs), chip scale packages(CSPs), a plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC), a plastic dual in-linepackage (PDIP), a multi chip package (MCP), a wafer-level package (WP),a wafer-level fabricated package (WFP), a wafer-level processed stackpackage (WSP), a die in waffle pack, a die in wafer form, a chip onboard (COB), a ceramic dual in-line package (CERDIP), a plastic metricquad flat pack (MQFP), a thin quad flat pack (TQFP), a small outlinepackage (SOP), a shrink small outline package (SSOP), a thin smalloutline package (TSOP), a thin quad flat package (TQFP), a system inpackage (SIP) and so on.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a nonvolatile memory device according tothe inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 20, a nonvolatile memory device1400 according to the inventive concept includes a memory cell array1430, a control logic circuit 1440, a voltage generator 1410, a decodingcircuit 1420 (e.g., a row decoder) disposed on each side of the cellarray 1430, and a page buffer 1450. The semiconductor memory device maycomprises a substrate, a memory string disposed on and substantiallynormal to the substrate, the memory string comprising a plurality ofstorage cells, a plurality of word lines; and at least two row decoders.The plurality of word lines have a first group of word lineselectrically connected to one row decoder at a first side of the memorystring and a second group of word lines electrically connected to theother row decoder at a second side of the memory string. Theinterconnections, extending outside one edge of the cell array portionat one and the other side may be connected to row decoders at bothsides. In this regard, the first row decoder may be connected to onegroup of string select lines (SSLs) at a first side of the memorystring, and the second row decoders is connected to another group ofSSLs at a second side of the memory string. Alternatively, either one ofthe two row decoders is connected to all of the string select lines(SSLs). The memory cell array 1400 includes memory cells that arearranged in a matrix configuration of rows or word lines and columns orbit lines. The memory cells may be arranged to have a NAND or a NORstructure. In the NAND structure, each memory cell string includestransistors that are connected in series. It will be easily understoodthat this inventive concept may be applied to a semiconductor devicehaving word lines WL1-WLn, the edge of which are formed in staircaseform so as to the conductive plug to connect each word line.

The control logic circuit 1440 is configured to control an overalloperation of the nonvolatile memory device 1400. In an exemplaryembodiment, the control logic circuit 1440 controls a series ofprogram-related operations. For example, the control logic circuit 1440may be a state machine storing a program sequence. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the control logic circuit 1440is not limited to the contents disclosed herein. For example, thecontrol logic circuit 1440 may be configured to control an eraseoperation and a read operation.

Under the control of the control logic circuit 1440, the voltagegenerator 1410 generates voltages to be applied to a selected word line,an unselected word line, a string select line SSL, a ground select lineGSL, and a common source line CSL. Also, the voltage generator 1410 maygenerate a program voltage Vpgm, a pass voltage Vpass, a read voltageVread, and a verify read voltage Vvfy.

Under the control of the control logic circuit 1440 drives a selectedword line, unselected word lines, a string select line SSL, a groundselect line GSL, and a common source line CSL in response to a rowaddress.

The decoding circuit 1420 drives the above lines by using the voltagesgenerated by the voltage generator 1410. For example, in a programoperation, the decoding circuit 1420 applies a program voltage Vpgm anda pass voltage Vpass respectively to a selected word line and anunselected word line.

The page buffer 1450 operates as a sense amplifier or a write driver. Ina read operation, the page buffer 1450 reads data from the memory cellarray 1430. Specifically, the page buffer 1450 senses a bit linevoltage, discriminates data according to the level of the bit linevoltage, and stores the discriminated data therein.

According to the embodiments of the inventive concept, at least twoactive bars can be uniformly stacked on a semiconductor substratewithout an electrical connection failure. Accordingly, dispersion of aplurality of cells formed in such a structure can be improved. In otherwords, nonvolatile memory devices configured to be suitable for highintegration and having enhanced electrical characteristics can berealized.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the inventive concept. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the inventive concept is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description of preferred embodiments.

1. A semiconductor memory device comprising: a substantially planarsubstrate; a memory string disposed substantially vertical to thesubstrate, the memory string comprising a plurality of storage cells;and a plurality of word lines, each word line including a first portiondisposed substantially parallel to the substrate and connected to thememory string and a second portion disposed substantially inclinedrelative to the substrate, wherein a first group of the plurality ofword lines are electrically connected to first conductive lines disposedat a first side of the memory string, and a second group of theplurality of word lines are electrically connected to second conductivelines disposed at a second side of the memory string.
 2. The device ofclaim 1 wherein a word line of the first group of word lines and a wordline of the second group of word lines are alternatingly positionedbetween each other in the direction extending from top to bottom of thememory string.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein the inclination of theelongated memory string is substantially 90 degrees relative to theplanar substrate and the first side of the memory string is disposedopposite to the second side of the memory string.
 4. The device of claim1 wherein the first portions of each of the plurality of word lines areparallel to each other, respectively.
 5. The device of claim 4 whereinthe second portions of each of the plurality of word lines at the firstside of the memory string are parallel to each other, respectively, andthe second portions of each of the plurality of word lines at the secondside of the memory string are parallel to each other, respectively. 6.The device of claim 1 wherein the first alternating word lines aredisposed on odd numbered storage cells counting from top to bottom ofthe memory string, respectively, and the second alternating word linesare disposed on even numbered storage cells counting from top to bottomof the memory string, respectively.
 7. The device of claim 6, furthercomprising insulating caps disposed at the elevated ends of the secondportions of even numbered word lines at the first side of the memorystring, and at the elevated ends of the second portions of odd numberedword lines at the second side of the memory string.
 8. The device ofclaim 1, further comprising a third group of word lines connected to athird conductive line disposed on a third side of the memory string,wherein the first group of word lines connect to modulus three remainderone numbered storage cells counting from top to bottom of the memorystring, respectively, the second group of word lines connect to modulusthree remainder two numbered storage cells counting from top to bottomof the memory string, respectively, and the third group of word linesconnect to modulus three remainder zero numbered storage cells countingfrom top to bottom of the memory string, respectively.
 9. The device ofclaim 1 wherein each of the plurality of storage cells and correspondingword lines occupies a different plane disposed parallel to the plane ofthe substrate.
 10. The device of claim 9 wherein contiguous portions ofa word line disposed in the same plane on different sides of the memorystring are electrically connected as one word line.
 11. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the substrate is horizontal and the memory string isvertical, the device further comprising a peripheral area disposed abovethe planar substrate.
 12. The device of claim 1, further comprising aplurality of conductive patterns for contact pads disposed between thefirst alternating word lines of the plurality of word lines and thefirst conductive lines, and between the second alternating word lines ofthe plurality of word lines and the second conductive lines.
 13. Thedevice of claim 12, further comprising a peripheral area disposed abovethe planar substrate.
 14. The device of claim 13 wherein the peripheralarea is disposed in the same level as the lower surface of conductivepatterns.
 15. The device of claim 1 wherein the inclined second portionsof the word lines are disposed at an inclination angle between about 50and about 90 degrees relative to the substrate.
 16. The device of claim1 wherein inclined second portions extend from both ends of the firstportion of each word line, and one of each pair of inclined secondportions from each word line is terminated with an insulating cap. 17.The device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of bit linesdisposed substantially perpendicular to each of the memory string andthe word lines.
 18. The device of claim 1 further comprising a chamberdisposed on the planar substrate wherein the chamber comprises a silicon(Si) recess in the substrate, and the elongated memory string andelongated word lines are disposed in the Si recess.
 19. The device ofclaim 1 further comprising a chamber disposed on the planar substratewherein the chamber comprises an insulating wall disposed on top of thesubstrate, and the elongated memory string and elongated word lines aredisposed within the periphery of the insulating wall.
 20. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the elongated word lines comprise metal or silicide. 21.The device of claim 1 wherein the memory string comprising the pluralityof storage cells is substantially columnar, tubular, or bar-sided. 22.The device of claim 6, further comprising at least two row decoders, onerow decoder disposed on the side of the odd numbered storage cells andanother row decoder disposed on the side of the even numbered storagecells.
 23. The device of claim 22 wherein a first row decoder of the twois connected to either even or odd string select lines (SSLs) and evenword lines, and a second row decoder of the two is connected to eitherodd or even SSLs and odd word lines, respectively.
 24. The device ofclaim 22 wherein a first row decoder of the two is connected to all ofthe string select lines (SSLs) and either even or odd word lines, and asecond row decoder of the two is connected to either odd or even wordlines, respectively.
 25. The device of claim 1 wherein the substratecomprises silicon, the insulating layers comprise silicon oxide, and theword lines comprise metal.
 26. The device of claim 1 wherein the storagecell comprises a control gate, a first insulating region, a chargestorage region, and a second insulating region.
 27. The device of claim1 wherein the storage cell comprises a metal gate as a control gate, ahigh-K region as a blocking layer, a nitride region as a charge storagelayer, and an oxide region as a tunnel layer.
 28. A method of forming asemiconductor memory device, the method comprising: providing asubstrate; forming a chamber on the substrate; depositing a plurality ofalternating insulating layers and sacrificial layers in the chamber,each layer having a horizontal first portion and at least one inclinedsecond portion; forming a hole substantially normal to the substrate andextending through the layers to the substrate; depositing a verticallyinclined memory string into the hole, the memory string comprising aplurality of storage cells; replacing the sacrificial layers withconductive layers to form a plurality of elongated word lines,respectively; and connecting first alternating word lines of theplurality to conductive lines disposed at a first side of the memorystring, and second alternating word lines of the plurality to conductivelines disposed at a second side of the memory string.
 29. The method ofclaim 28, further comprising forming a peripheral area on a surface atthe top level of the memory string.
 30. The method of claim 28 whereinthe vertical memory string is bar-sided, the method further comprisingforming a trench for x-cut to divide the memory string into two parallelstrings.
 31. The method of claim 28 wherein the substrate comprisessilicon, the insulating layers comprise silicon oxide, and the wordlines comprise metal.
 32. The method of claim 28 wherein the chamber isrecessed directly into the substrate.
 33. The method of claim 28 whereinthe chamber is formed on top of the substrate by forming insulatingsidewalls thereon.
 34. The method of claim 28 wherein each storage cellcomprises a control gate, a first insulating region, a charge storageregion, and a second insulating region.
 35. The method of claim 28wherein each storage cell comprises a metal gate as a control gate, ahigh-K region as a blocking layer, a nitride region as a charge storagelayer, and an oxide region as a tunnel layer.
 36. A semiconductor memorydevice comprising: a substrate; a memory string disposed on andsubstantially normal to the substrate, the memory string comprising aplurality of storage cells; and a plurality of word lines, each wordline including a first portion substantially parallel to the substrateand coupled to the memory string and a second portion substantiallyinclined relative to the substrate and extending upwardly, wherein firstalternating word lines of the plurality of word lines are electricallyconnected to first conductive lines disposed at a first side of thememory string, and second alternating word lines of the plurality ofword lines are electrically connected to second conductive linesdisposed at a second side of the memory string.
 37. A semiconductormemory device comprising: a substrate; a memory string disposed on andsubstantially normal to the substrate, the memory string comprising aplurality of storage cells; and a plurality of word lines, each wordline including a first portion substantially parallel to the substrateand coupled to the memory string and a second portion substantiallyinclined relative to the substrate and extending upwardly, wherein theword lines comprise first word lines selectively connected to firstconductive lines disposed at a first side of the memory string, andsecond word lines selectively connected to second conductive linesdisposed at a second side of the memory string.
 38. The device of claim37, wherein the word lines comprise at least one dummy word line. 39.The device of claim 37, wherein the first side has a first row decoderand the second side has a second row decoder.
 40. A semiconductor memorydevice comprising: a substrate; a memory string disposed on andsubstantially normal to the substrate, the memory string comprising aplurality of storage cells; a plurality of word lines; and at least tworow decoders, wherein the plurality of word lines includes a first groupof word lines electrically connected to one row decoder at a first sideof the memory string and a second group of word lines electricallyconnected to the other row decoder at a second side of the memorystring.
 41. The device of claim 40 wherein the first row decoder isconnected to one group of string select lines (SSLs) at a first side ofthe memory string, and the second row decoder is connected to anothergroup of SSLs at a second side of the memory string.
 42. The device ofclaim 40 wherein either one of the two row decoders is connected to allof the string select lines (SSLs).
 43. A method of forming asemiconductor memory device, the method comprising: providing asubstrate; forming a chamber on the substrate; depositing a plurality ofalternating insulating layers and conductive layers in the chamber, theconductive layers forming a plurality of word lines, each layer having ahorizontal first portion and at least one inclined second portion;forming a hole substantially normal to the substrate and extendingthrough the layers to the substrate; depositing a vertically inclinedmemory string into the hole, the memory string comprising a plurality ofstorage cells; and connecting first alternating word lines of theplurality of word lines to contact pads disposed at a first side of thememory string, and second alternating word lines of the plurality ofword lines to contact pads disposed at a second side of the memorystring.